Kuwait Oil Company Signs $597 Mn Drilling Deal with Halliburton

Kuwait Oil Company Signs $597 Mn Drilling Deal with Halliburton
TT
20

Kuwait Oil Company Signs $597 Mn Drilling Deal with Halliburton

Kuwait Oil Company Signs $597 Mn Drilling Deal with Halliburton

State-owned Kuwait Oil Co. and Halliburton Co. signed a 181.4 million dinar ($597 million) contract to explore for oil off the coast of Kuwait.

The contract includes exploration and drilling operations for six rigs, KOC Chief Executive Officer Emad Sultan said in a press conference after signing the three-year agreement.

Kuwait Oil will use two rigs in the first stage of the project to drill six exploratory wells, he said.

The projects aim at increasing Kuwait's oil and free-gas production, he added, noting that his country has commenced a new era of production capabilities.



Russia's Economy Minister Says the Country is on 'the Brink of Recession'

People gesture as they shop in a supermarket in Moscow, Russia June 26, 2024. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
People gesture as they shop in a supermarket in Moscow, Russia June 26, 2024. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
TT
20

Russia's Economy Minister Says the Country is on 'the Brink of Recession'

People gesture as they shop in a supermarket in Moscow, Russia June 26, 2024. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
People gesture as they shop in a supermarket in Moscow, Russia June 26, 2024. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

Russia's economy is “on the brink of going into a recession,” the country's economy minister said Thursday, according to Russian media reports.

Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov delivered the warning at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the annual event in Russia's second largest city designed to highlight the country's economic prowess and court foreign investors, The AP reported.

Russian business news outlet RBC quoted the official as saying “the numbers indicate cooling, but all our numbers are (like) a rearview mirror. Judging by the way businesses currently feel and the indicators, we are already, it seems to me, on the brink of going into a recession.”

The economy, hit with a slew of sanctions after the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, has so far outperformed predictions. High defense spending has propelled growth and kept unemployment low despite fueling inflation. At the same time, wages have gone up to keep pace with inflation, leaving many workers better off.

Large recruiting bonuses for military enlistees and death benefits for those killed in Ukraine also have put more income into the country’s poorer regions. But over the long term, inflation and a lack of foreign investments remain threats to the economy, leaving a question mark over how long the militarized economy can keep going.

Economists have warned of mounting pressure on the economy and the likelihood it would stagnate due to lack of investment in sectors other than the military.

Speaking at a forum session, Reshetnikov said Russia was “on the brink,” and whether the country would slide into a recession or not depends on the government's actions.

“Going forward, it all depends on our decisions," Reshetnikov said, according to RBC.

RBC reported Russia's Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and Central Bank Gov. Elvira Nabiullina gave more optimistic assessments.

Siluanov spoke about the economy “cooling” but noted that after any cooling “the summer always comes," RBC reported.

Nabiullina said Russia's economy was merely “coming out of overheating," according to RBC.