Kuwait eyes 250,000 bpd by 2020-end from zone shared with Saudi Arabia

Kuwaiti oil output from the Neutral Zone (NZ) it shares with Saudi Arabia is expected to reach 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) when production restarts at the end of 2020, Reuters reported, citing the country’s oil minister.

“Signing the memorandum of understanding (MoU) means the return of production of 250,000 bpd before the end of 2020,” Kuwait oil minister Khaled Al-Fadhel said.

Increasing Kuwait’s production capacity will not affect its commitment to supply-reduction quotas under the OPEC+ production cut agreement, the minister added.

“The MoU will also enable Kuwait to develop its share of the Dorra gas field in the NZ to produce 500 million cubic feet of natural gas per day and increase natural gas and crude oil reserves,” Al-Fadhel said.

Kuwait and Saudi Arabia agreed to end a 5-year dispute over the area, allowing production to resume at 2 jointly-run oilfields that can pump up to 0.5% of the world’s oil supply.