Kuwait makes new offshore gas discovery

Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has announced a new discovery in the Al-Jazah offshore natural gas field

According to a KOC statement, the initial exploration well recorded the highest production rate from a vertical well in the Minagish formation in Kuwait’s history.
Initial tests at the Jazah-1 well indicate production exceeding 29 million cubic feet per day (mcf/d) of natural gas and more than 5,000 barrels a day of condensate, according to the statement.

With an area estimated at around 40 sq. km, the field is estimated to hold potential reserves of around one trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas and more than 120 mn barrels of condensate, which may be revised upwards with further exploration in surrounding areas.

KOC said the reservoir has low CO2, no hydrogen sulfide and no associated water.

The new discovery follows other offshore discoveries including the Nokhatha field discovery last year, which is estimated at about 2.1bn barrels of oil and 5.1 trillion cubic feet of gas, and the Julaiah field early this year, described by KOC CEO Ahmad Jaber Al Eidan as a “strategic breakthrough.”

This is a result of KOC’s push to develop its offshore resources as it seeks to boost gas output and reduce its dependence on imported LNG. Phase 1 of its offshore exploration programme, consisting of the drilling of six wells, is underway, with planning for Phase Il also underway, with nine additional locations identified for further exploration and appraisal, according to Al Eidan.

Kuwait is the fifth-largest producer in OPEC, currently producing approximately 2.7mn bpd of oil, with plans to increase its production capacity to 4mn bpd by 2035. Al Eidan commented in an earlier interview with Oil Review Middle East, “Our strategy focuses on optimising production from mature assets, accelerating the development of high-potential reservoirs, and unlocking new growth frontiers, both onshore and offshore, to ensure sustainable and resilient capacity growth.”

He said the new offshore discoveries “significantly expand Kuwait's hydrocarbon frontier beyond the onshore legacy and add a new dimension to our long-term production sustainability,” adding that offshore development will play an increasingly vital role in KOC’s production mix in the coming decade.