Count on Kuwait
Kuwait thankful for cuts after missing output targets
Kuwait has temporarily dodged a bullet. Its Opec commitment for a cut of 131,000 barrels a day, to keep production beneath 2.75m b/d, has shifted scrutiny away from the country's failing plan to reach output of 4m b/d by 2020. Instead, the focus is on how and where state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) will make the cuts. Its job has involuntarily become easier: KPC missed a 3m b/d production target in 2016. The confidential results of KPC's assessment of its oil wells is due in late January and will identify the wells that would benefit most from unplanned maintenance, thus stemming output. The list will not be long and will likely prioritise work at mature wells to preserve their lo
Also in this section
13 March 2026
Brussels is again weighing a cap on gas prices amid the Hormuz crisis, but the measure could backfire by deterring the LNG cargoes Europe urgently needs
12 March 2026
Emergency oil stocks provide a last line of defence to oil market shocks, so the IEA’s unprecedented 400m bl release represents something of a double-edged sword
12 March 2026
LPG could rapidly expand access to clean cooking across Africa and prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from indoor air pollution each year, but infrastructure shortages and regulatory barriers are slowing investment and market growth
11 March 2026
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy
