Page 7 - MEOG Week 35

MEOG fInanCe & InVestment MEOG
Kuwait to privatise remaining 50% of stock exchange
KuWaIt
KUWAIT is targeting the privatisation of the remaining 50% of the shares of Boursa Kuwait Securities Company, the stock exchange, in the fourth quarter (October-December) of 2019 fol- lowing an earlier sale to a strategic anchor inves- tor, the Capital Market Authority - the owner/ regulator of the exchange- said in a press release.
In a note addressing the public, the CMA set September 8 as the cut o date for citizens to reg- ister with the Public Authority for Civil Infor- mation to be eligible for the share subscription reserved for Kuwaiti nationals only. Shares are to be allocated proportionally to citizens.
e rst stage of the stock exchange’s priva- tisation involved the sale of a 44% equity stake to a consortium consisting of Athens Stock Exchange, national Investment Company, First Investment Company and Arzan Financial Group.
In addition, the Public Institution for Social Security, the state pension fund, purchased a 6% equity stake bringing the total institutional
ownership of shares to half of the total number of shares.
If Boursa Kuwait’s privatisation goes accord- ing to plan, it will mark a milestone in the road to implementing deeper economic reforms in the oil rich emirate.
Oil target
On August 31, Kuwait Oil Co. (KOC) CEO Emad Sultan told Platts that the rm planned to begin producing heavy crude in 2020 ahead of hitting its 3.2mn barrel per day output target by 2024. He said that current production is running at 2.7mn bpd.
Heavy oil will be produced from Lower Fars, a project targeting 60,000 bpd from a rst phase that is anticipated paving the way for the start of work on the subsequent phases long-envisaged for the landmark scheme.
Sultan said in late 2018 that work on the pro- ject was around 86% complete and that roughly 930 wells were ready to commence operations.™
PerformanCe
Iraqi exports increase despite pipe issues
Iraq
IRAQ’S crude oil exports increased to 3.603mn barrels per day during August, up from 3.566mn bpd in July, according to a statement by the coun- try’s Ministry of Oil (MoO).
As usual, exports from terminals in the southern province of Basra accounted for the vast majority, with ows there reaching 3.468mn bpd, an increase of 33,000 bpd compared to July.
Iraq’s one major alternative to maritime exports is the Kirkuk-Ceyhan Pipeline, which is o en also referred to as the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline (ITP). is has su ered from a serious lack of maintenance and has been taken o ine in its entirety at various points following attacks. e MoO said that the pipeline saw oil ows average 105,000 bpd during August.
Kirkuk-Ceyhan consists of two strings, which originally had an original combined nameplate capacity of 1.6mn bpd, with the wider, 46-inch (1,168-mm) pipe capable of carrying 1.1mn bpd and the narrower 40-inch (1,016-mm) line 500,000 bpd.
However, following years of sabotage and dis- repair, Middle East Oil & Gas (MEOG) reported in July that Kirkuk-Ceyhan is rarely capable of achieving anywhere near its total capacity.
There is also an Erbil-controlled pipeline, which runs from the Taq Taq eld via Khurmala and connects to Kirkuk-Ceyhan at the metering station in the border town of Fishkhabur. is line was designed to carry 700,000 bpd, but fed- eral Iraqi oil would need to be put in control of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to make use of the conduit.
ere has been a signi cant ramping up in rhetoric regarding the planned pipeline to take oil from Basra to the Jordanian port of Aqaba, and relations between the two countries will be improved by the resumption of Iraqi oil ship- ments to Jordan’s sole re nery this week (see: Iraq crude set to arrive in Jordan, page 6).
e implementation of the $5bn Basra-Aqaba pipeline has been agreed upon by Baghdad and Amman, with plans entailing a 1mn bpd line taking southern Iraqi oil to Jordan’s Red Sea coast. e project recently received endorsement from the Iraqi Cabinet, including Jordan having the right to buy 150,000 bpd of oil transferred through the 1,700-km pipeline.
e MoO noted that it had achieved $6.341bn in revenues from crude in August, based on an average sale price of $56.77 per barrel.™
Week 35 03•September•2019 w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m P7