Page 13 - MEOG Week 01 2021

MEOG PERFORMANCE MEOG

Kuwait declares new finds, keeps drilling

KUWAIT KUWAITI oil minister Mohammed al-Fares bpd of oil and 430mmcf (12.2mcm) per day of
this week announced that state-owned Kuwait gas last year, down by around 100,000 barrels
Oil Co. (KOC) has made three new oil and gas and 25mmcf (700,000 cubic metres) because
discoveries as the country plans to continue of Kuwait’s efforts to comply with OPEC+
exploration efforts. restrictions. Oil flows from Greater Burgan are
Speaking to state news agency KUNA, expected to increase to around 1.8mn bpd over
al-Fares said that two fields had been discovered the next decade remaining stable at that level.
while an extension of the northern part of the Despite having reportedly cancelled high
country’s key oil asset – Great Burgan – has also profile tenders during 2020 including one for the
been found. drilling of 11 heavy oil wells, Kuwait has ambi-
The Homah oilfield was discovered in north- tious upstream targets and al-Fares underlined
western Kuwait covering an area of more than the intention to keep drilling.
70 square km. The field flowed at an initial rate Late last year, Middle East Oil & Gas
of 1,452 barrels per day of light oil. (MEOG) reported that KOC was set to lease 31
Meanwhile, the al-Qashaniyah field was dis- drilling towers from a group of local and inter-
covered in the north near the major Rawdatain national companies. One source was quoted by
and al-Sabriya fields. Al-Qashaniyah flowed at a local media as saying that the company intends
rate of 1,819 bpd of light 49-degree API oil and to “drill around 400 new crude oil wells” once the
2.78mn cubic feet (79,000 cubic metres) per day new towers are delivered. The new units will take
of associated gas. Al-Fares said that these dis- the total in the country to 150, comprised of 80
coveries were significant because they shed light for drilling and 70 for well repair.
on the large undiscovered areas in the west and The move is part of KOC’s efforts to expand
northwest of the country. E&P activities in line with its upstream strat-
The extension to Greater Burgan flowed egy for 2040 and developing newly discovered
at a rate of 2,000 bpd from multiple wells that reservoirs.
were drilled during 2020. Greater Burgan is the Kuwait had been attempting to maintain
world’s second largest onshore oilfield and has highly ambitious capacity targets of 4mn bpd by
remaining reserves of around 21bn barrels of oil the end of 2020 and 4.75mn bpd by the end of
and nearly 4trn cubic feet (113bcm) of gas with 2040, up from the current 3.1-3.2mn bpd. In late
production having begun in 1946. The field is 2019, the 2020 target was reported to have been
estimated to have produced an average of 1.5mn pushed back to 2040.™

Week 01 06•January•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P13