Kuwait reportedly to set up its ‘largest oil company’

Kuwait’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MCI) has approved a plan to set up what is expected to be the country’s biggest oil company.

Kuwait is reportedly preparing to create its ‘largest oil company’ with a planned oil production capacity of around 615,000 barrels per day (bpd). 

The new company will be named Kuwait Integrated Petrochemical Industries Company (KIPIC) and will serve as a subsidiary to Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC). 

Kuwait’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MCI) has approved a request by KPC to set up the new company. 

The KIPIC will have a capital of $6bn of which 25 percent, $1.5bn, is paid, reported Kuwait News Agency KUNA.

The company runs refining and petrochemical projects. It also runs the integration project between the refining and petrochemical complex in Az-Zour, which includes the Az-Zour Refinery, a petrochemical complex and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) importing facility, added KUNA in a report also carried by Arabianbusiness.com. 

Around 40 percent of KIPIC’s production will be devoted to low-sulfur fuel power stations.

The company is further expected to play an important role in running the Az-Zour refinery and terminals to import liquefied natural gas.

Oil comprises almost half of Kuwait’s gross domestic product (GDP). The country is the world’s eleventh largest oil producer and seventh largest exporter.  Its proven reserves are estimated to be around 104 billion barrels.  

Kuwait’s crude oil production currently is estimated to be around 2.57 million barrels per day (mb/d), up from 2.55 mb/d last month and up from 2.55 mb/d one year ago. This is a change of 0.78% from last month and 0.78% from one year ago, based on figures provided by YCharts.com.