Page 6 - MEOG Week 27 2022

MEOG PRICES & PERFORMANCE MEOG

Kuwait, Saudi discuss

expediting PNZ projects

KUWAIT/SAUDI A Kuwait-Saudi working group focused on the disagreements between the two governments in
development of joint oil and gas projects met this 2014 and then in 2015. Following the 2019 agree-
week to discuss the acceleration of efforts in their ment, output increased to around 270,000 bpd
Partitioned Neutral Zone (PNZ). by the end of 2021 and the partners are work-
The expansion of production from the shared ing to expand it, with Kuwaiti officials last year
on- and offshore assets comes as both countries announcing ambitious though loose plans to
work to raise total domestic oil capacity and are reach a combined output of 700,000 bpd.
under pressure to meet higher OPEC+ quotas Al-Sabah highlighted efforts to streamline
while maintaining spare capacity. administrative, operating and safety procedures
The Permanent Joint Committee for the PNZ, and the importance of regular meetings in facil-
also known as the divided zone, is comprised of itating collaboration on the projects. The Saudi
officials from the Kuwaiti Ministry of Oil (MoO) delegation was led by Saudi assistant energy
and the Saudi Ministry of Energy. The meeting minister Mohammad Al-Brahim.
was held at the head office of the Wafra Joint Kuwait has a target of expanding oil produc-
Operations (WJO) company. tion capacity from around 2.8mn bpd to 3.5mn
MoO undersecretary Dr. Nimir Al-Sabah bpd by 2025 and to 4mn bpd a decade later. Saudi
was quoted by the official Kuwait News Agency Arabia is working to raisse its maximum sustain-
(KUNA) as saying that the meeting comes at a able capacity (MSC) from 12.2mn bpd to 13mn
‘crucial time’ in the development of the onshore bpd by 2027. This figure is seen reaching 13.4mn
Wafra and offshore Al-Khafji oilfields, output bpd including output from the PNZ.
from which has been ramping up since a Decem- Kuwait Gulf Oil Co. (KGOC) represents the
ber 2019 agreement that broke years of deadlock. country’s interests in WJO area, while Saudi Ara-
KUNA’s counterpart, the Saudi Press Agency bian Chevron (SAC) carries out work on behalf
(SPA), has not published from the Saudi side. of Saudi Arabia and its NOC Saudi Aramco.
At capacity, the fields can produce around Meanwhile, KGOC is working with Aramco
550,000 barrels per day – Al-Khafji 300,000 bpd Gulf Co-operation Co. (AGOC) in Khafji Joint
and Wafra 250,000 bpd. Production is shared Operations (KJO). KGOC is the PNZ-focused
50:50 by the two countries. affiliate of Kuwait Oil Co. (KOC), itself a subsid-
The fields were shut in because of iary of the Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPC).™

Source: Woodmac

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 27 06•July•2022