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MEOG NEWS IN BRIEF MEOG
estimated net profit is KD 823 million. Otaibi described the decision of Health GAS
During the discussion, they agreed that Minister Dr Khalid Al-Saeed to relocate the
the estimated budget is no longer feasible Infectious Diseases Hospital from Sabah Zamlat al-Mahr well
due to the conservative view on oil prices, Health District to Jahra Hospital as a medical
exaggerated projection of expenditures, and administrative blunder. He argued the connected to Syrian grid
and failure of KNPC to implement Infectious Diseases Hospital should remain
its development strategies. Therefore, in Sabah Health District, because it is The Zamlat al-Mahr well 1 has been inserted
Abdulsamad stressed the need to adjust accessible to all citizens from different parts into the network with a capacity of 250,000
the estimated budget to be more realistic; of the country. He said Jahra is very far for cubic metres per day, and excavation work is
pointing out the Ministry of Finance intends those residing in the South and interior areas underway in the Zamlat al-Mahr field.
to increase the estimated price of oil from including Kuwait City. He warned that the Syria’s Minister of Oil and Mineral
$65 to $80 per barrel for fiscal 2022/2023. He relocation could pose a threat to the patients Resources, Bassam Tohme, put the Zamlat
believes this will narrow the gap between the at Jahra Hospital, especially those who have al-Mahr well 1 located 40 km west of Palmyra
estimated and actual budgets of KNPC. He been confined at the hospital for a long time in production initially to the network via a
attributed the wide gap between expenditures as most of them are suffering from chronic 2.7 km side link to the Shaer line and the Ebla
and revenues to the delayed completion of diseases; hence, their immune system is plant, pending the completion of work on the
some projects and launching of other projects very weak, making them more vulnerable main line linking the Zamlat al-Mahr field
like the environmental fuel and Zour Refinery. to infection. He urged the minister to cancel with the Sharifa field and a gas plant south of
He went on to reveal that the actual works the decision, taking into consideration the the region.
of KNPC decreased by 94 percent in the last opinions of specialists in the interest of The line is 30 km long, in order to
10 years, recording KD95 million in fiscal patients. He called for establishing hospitals introduce the new gas to the network at the
2020/2021; while the operational profit in the exclusive for patients suffering from infectious maximum speed. The field is estimated to
same period declined by 31 percent, recording diseases in every governorate. In another hold 9bn cubic metres of gas.
a loss of KD228 million. He added that KNPC development, The Minister toured the drilling sites in the
attributed this decline to the collapse of oil MP Mehalhal Al-Mudaf forwarded Zamlat Al-Mahr well 2 where the Urlmach_3
prices during the Covid-19 crisis. He then queries to Minister of Education and Higher electric drill is working, and the depth reached
argued that the revenues of KNPC started Education Dr Ali Fahd Al-Mudaf about about 2,000mn, as it is expected to reach the
decreasing even before the Covid-19 crisis, the ranking of Kuwait compared to other productive layer within a short period.
asserting this is the result of a remarkable Gulf countries in terms of the quality of He also inspected the drilling site in
increase in operational expenditures – education. He requested for information on Zamlat al-Mahr 3 in which the National 2 rig
60 percent in the last 10 years. He said they the classification of Kuwait in global education works. The drilling depth reached 170 m. The
recommended the formation of a committee indexes, budget for education in the last fiscal production of this new field is expected to
that will be tasked to rationalize expenditures year, and cost of services provided to Kuwaiti exceed 500,000 cubic metres until the end of
in order to guarantee the stability of KNPC. students in public schools. MP Homoud this year, while work is underway to complete
On the earthquake that hit the country Mebrek Al-Azmi asked the minister about the the exploration of this field.
recently, Abdulsamad said the committee decision to suspend the scholarship program The Zamlat al-Muhr field was discovered
asked KNPC to prove that its oil production for Dentistry students in Arab countries and at the end of 2021 as the first gas field since
activities have nothing to do with the if the Ministry of Health was consulted before before the war.
earthquake. He quoted the representatives taking such decision. He demanded for copies MOPMR
of KNPC as saying that the drilling works of correspondences between the ministries of
do not exceed a depth of two km and such Higher Education and Health in this regard.
depth does not cause earthquakes. The Moreover, National Assembly Speaker SERVICES
KNPC representatives also affirmed that Marzouq Al-Ghanim had a meeting with
they are not using hydraulic drills, pointing Regional Director of the World Bank in the ADNOC and Hub71 partner on
out this method is used in the United States Gulf Essam Abu Sulaiman recently. MP Obaid
of America for fossil fuel production. They Al-Wasmi and Director of the World Bank AI solutions for energy
added there are no records showing a Office in Kuwait Ghassan Al- Khouja attended
relationship between hydraulic drilling and the meeting, during which they discussed Abu Dhabi’s startup hub Hub71 will partner
earthquakes. various issues. with AIQ – ADNOC’s joint venture with
On the other hand, MP Khalid Al- ARAB TIMES Group 42 (G42) – to develop AI solutions
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