Kuwait invites foreign oil giants to develop offshore finds

• KPC seeking global oil giants to bid
• Kuwait will retain control of fields
• Wants to lift capacity to 4m bpd

Kuwait has launched two projects – Shahin (falcon) and Saif (sword) – to attract international oil companies as it seeks to increase crude production capacity to 4 million barrels a day.

Under the Saif project, Kuwait aims to hire global companies to develop its newly discovered offshore oilfields while Shahin involves leasing its pipeline network to foreign businesses to raise funds.

While international companies are being invited to bid for the projects, the Kuwaiti authorities have insisted that it will retain full control of its oilfields.

“Kuwait is targeting expansion of its oil production capacity by 25 percent to 4 million bpd by 2035 through the two strategic Shahin and Saif projects,” said Sheikh Nawaf Al Sabah, deputy chairman and CEO of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), which manages the country’s hydrocarbon industry.

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Speaking at an oil and gas conference in Kuwait on Tuesday, Al Sabah said the Al Nokhatha, Jazah and Al Julaia offshore fields could provide the bulk of the extra oil needed to meet the 4 million target.

Al Sabah, whose comments were carried by the state-run Kuwait News Agency, said the Shahin and Saif projects would involve service contracts, rather than any concessions or ownership partnerships.

“This framework provides attractive incentives for international oil companies to participate in development and exploration,” he said, pointing to the recent discoveries and expectations that there could be more opportunities in the Kuwaiti offshore basin.

Kuwait Oil Company, a subsidiary of KPC, announced major offshore natural gas and condensate discoveries at Jazah and Julaia last October. The Jazah field yielded more than 29 million cubic feet of gas and 5,000 barrels of condensate per day. 

Both fields, along with the Al Nokhatha discovery in 2024, are part of a major push to develop Kuwait’s offshore hydrocarbon resources.

Also on Tuesday, US oilfield services provider SLB announced that it had been awarded a $1.6 billion, five-year contract by Kuwait Oil Company to work on the Mitribah field.

Kuwait’s recoverable oil deposits are officially estimated at around 101 billion barrels.