Kuwait is making headway in revamping its oil sector that has fallen behind its neighbors in recent years. Long-standing targets for 2020 were missed and crude oil production capacity declined between 2016 and 2021. Much of this was due to opposition in some political quarters to foreign investment, while large-scale capital projects were frequently cancelled amid heightened political scrutiny and frequent squabbles between a succession of governments and parliament.
Since his appointment in 2022, KPC CEO Sheikh Nawaf Al Sabah has sought to address these issues. As a result, capacity increased gradually from around 2.7mn b/d in 2021 to 3.0-3.2mn b/d currently. Political room to maneuver was afforded in 2024 with the suspension of parliament (MEES, 17 May 2024), and Sheikh Nawaf told MEES last year that KPC was working on a new contract model that would be consistent with constitutional limitations but more attractive to IOCs (MEES, 18 July 2025). (CONTINUED - 1565 WORDS)
