9 December 2005, 13:56  Kuwait to pump 44 bln usd into its oil industry over next 15 years

The Gulf state of Kuwait has earmarked more than 44 bln usd over the next 15 years to upgrade its oil industry and boost output to 4 mln barrels per day (bpd). "Total estimated investments in the oil sector from 2005 to 2020 will exceed 44 billion dollars. We aim to modernise the sector and boost output to four million bpd," energy ministry undersecretary Issa al-Oun told Agence France-Presse as Kuwait prepared to host a meeting of the OPEC cartel on Monday. The money will be spent on projects such as a large refinery and upstream projects to raise output, in addition to a number of large petrochemicals plants, he said. Kuwait, which sits atop 10 pct of the world's proven reserves of around 100 bln barrels, has the fifth largest OPEC quota at 2.227 mln bpd but its actual production is around 2.5 mln bpd. Boosting production capacity from the current 2.7 mln bpd to 4 mln bpd by 2020 will cost the OPEC member an estimated 20 bln usd on projects including upgrading production facilities, pipelines, gathering centres, booster stations and export terminals.

© 1999-2024 Forex EuroClub
All rights reserved