Kuwait to go ahead with key strategic projects

At CERAWeek, taking place in Houston from 23-27 March, Shaikh Nawaf S. Al-Sabah, deputy chairman and CEO of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) reaffirmed progress on key strategic projects, including Project Seif and Project Peregrine, despite the current situation

Project Seif involves the development of Kuwait’s recently-discovered offshore fields, in which Kuwait is inviting IOCs to participate, and will ensure “additional production resilience and capacity to help meet production targets in the future,” Shaikh Al-Sabah said in his virtual address. Kuwait aims to lift production capacity to 4mn bpd by 2035 from around 2.5mn bpd currently.

“This is something that is of paramount importance in Kuwait, it is a project with real international scope and we’re moving ahead with this,” he confirmed.

“At the same time, on a shorter timescale, we have Project Peregrine, which is the project by which we lease and lease back our pipelines,” he continued. “This will be the largest single foreign investment in Kuwait.”

He added that the principal partners and investors had confirmed that they are still keen for the project to go ahead, and to continue to participate.

“This is a recognition that Kuwait remains open for business through these attacks,” he said, in reference to Iran’s drone attacks on the country's critical infrastructure facilities.

Shaikh Al-Sabah highlighted the global implications of any disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, noting its “vital concern” to the world economy, with around 75% of Asia’s oil and 83% of its LNG passing through it. 

“It’s a domino effect,” he said. ”The costs of this war don’t stay in geographical lines in this region, they extend all the way through the supply chain.” He noted the impact on petrochemical supply chains and even food security, given the use of polyethylene in food packaging. He added that most of the world’s urea fertiliser comes from the Gulf.

Echoing other Gulf energy leaders, he said, “We are outraged by this attack on us. These attacks are no just on the Gulf, but are holding the world’s economy hostage. This is an attack on our sovereignty in Kuwait, on our people, and on our facilities. This act is unjustified and illegal by all standards."