Drilling at Kuwait’s Durra Field to Start this Year

Drilling at Kuwait’s Durra Field to Start this Year
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Drilling at Kuwait’s Durra Field to Start this Year

Drilling at Kuwait’s Durra Field to Start this Year

Procedures for drilling and construction work on the Durra gas field will begin later this year after engineering studies wrap up later this summer, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation’s (KPC) CEO Sheikh Nawaf Saud Al-Sabah told Reuters on Thursday.

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait affirm they jointly own rights to natural resources in Durra while Iran claims a stake in the Gulf's gas field.

Sheikh Nawaf said the company plans to invest 7 billion Kuwaiti dinars ($22.92 billion) on its upstream operations over the next five years.

He also said that KPC would reach a production capacity of 3.2 million barrels per day (bpd) by the end of this year and expects to increase that to 4 million bpd by 2035.

Earlier, the CEO of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation told CNBC Arabia that production operations in offshore reservoirs require seven years. “But we expect to start production from Al-Nokhatha field within a shorter period of time,” he said.

The CEO noted that the oil and gas discovery at Al-Nokhatha field supports Kuwait’s strategy to increase its capacity to 4 million bpd by 2035.

On Wednesday, State-owned Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) announced preparations to begin digging six new exploratory wells in the country’s territorial waters, which contains large hydrocarbon resources.

The announcement came after KPC said on Sunday it had made a “giant” oil discovery in the Al-Nokhatha field, with oil reserves estimated at 3.2 billion barrels.



Saudi Crude Exports Rise to 6.118 Million bpd in May

Municipal police officers patrol the El Saler beach in the Albufera Natural Park, after the city council of Valencia closed three beaches on the Mediterranean coast following a suspected oil or fuel spill on the sand, in Valencia, Spain on July 17, 2024 (Photo by Jose Jordan / AFP)
Municipal police officers patrol the El Saler beach in the Albufera Natural Park, after the city council of Valencia closed three beaches on the Mediterranean coast following a suspected oil or fuel spill on the sand, in Valencia, Spain on July 17, 2024 (Photo by Jose Jordan / AFP)
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Saudi Crude Exports Rise to 6.118 Million bpd in May

Municipal police officers patrol the El Saler beach in the Albufera Natural Park, after the city council of Valencia closed three beaches on the Mediterranean coast following a suspected oil or fuel spill on the sand, in Valencia, Spain on July 17, 2024 (Photo by Jose Jordan / AFP)
Municipal police officers patrol the El Saler beach in the Albufera Natural Park, after the city council of Valencia closed three beaches on the Mediterranean coast following a suspected oil or fuel spill on the sand, in Valencia, Spain on July 17, 2024 (Photo by Jose Jordan / AFP)

Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports in May rose to 6.118 million barrels per day from 5.968 million bpd in April, official data showed on Wednesday.

Monthly export figures are provided by Riyadh and other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI), which published them on its website.

In the markets, oil prices rose on Wednesday, a day after Brent crude fell to its lowest level in a month, as the decline in US inventories helped offset the impact of indications of a slowdown in demand from China.

Brent crude futures increased 22 cents, or 0.26 percent, to $83.95 per barrel by 12:02 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 36 cents, or 0.45 percent, to $81.12 per barrel.

Both benchmarks fell in the previous three sessions, with Brent crude futures recording $83.30 on Tuesday, the lowest level since June 17.

Market sources, citing data from the American Petroleum Institute, said that US crude oil inventories fell by 4.4 million barrels in the week ending July 12.

Analysts polled by Reuters estimated crude stocks would fall by 33,000 barrels. The sources said that gasoline stocks increased by 365,000 barrels, and distillate stocks increased by 4.923 million barrels.

At the same time, rising geopolitical risks are supporting oil prices. A Liberia-flagged oil tanker was assessing damage and investigating a potential oil spill after it was attacked by the Houthis in the Red Sea, the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, official data this week showed that the Chinese economy grew 4.7 percent in the second quarter, the slowest pace since the first quarter of 2023, capping crude price gains.