Kuwait expects production from the Neutral Zone, shared with Saudi Arabia, to reach 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) before the year end, the country’s energy minister said.
The countries agreed to resume production from the shared area called the Neutral Zone after a five-year dispute and hiatus, where two fields of Khafji and Wafra used to produce 500,000 bpd or 0.5 per cent global oil supply before the shutdown.
Khaled Al-Fadhel, Kuwait’s oil minister, speaking at parliament during the National Assembly session on Thursday, said the deal would allow Kuwait to produce 500 million cubic feet per day of natural gas, representing the country’s share in Al-Durra oil field.
Additionally, Kuwait will also see an increase in crude oil and natural gas reserves, as well as a new marine route to export its share of oil in the Divided Zone. The two countries also agreed to execute joint offshore and onshore projects in the area and developing joint fields as well.
Separately, increasing Kuwait’s production capacity will not affect the country’s commitment to supply-reduction quotas under the OPEC+ production cut agreement, the minister said.
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia as members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) along with Russia agreed to deepen production cuts this year to support oil prices.
