Kuwait Oil Ministry: Production Resumes at 2 Oilfields Shared with Saudi Arabia

Crude oil production resumed early July at the Wafra oilfield, shared by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. (Reuters)
Crude oil production resumed early July at the Wafra oilfield, shared by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. (Reuters)
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Kuwait Oil Ministry: Production Resumes at 2 Oilfields Shared with Saudi Arabia

Crude oil production resumed early July at the Wafra oilfield, shared by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. (Reuters)
Crude oil production resumed early July at the Wafra oilfield, shared by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. (Reuters)

Crude oil production resumed early July at the Wafra oilfield, shared by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, after a five-year halt, the Kuwaiti oil ministry said on Twitter on Monday.

The Wafra and Khafji oilfields are located in the Neutral Zone on the boundary of the two countries.

Saudi Arabian Chevron (SAC), which jointly operates the Wafra field with Kuwait Gulf Oil Company (KGOC), said in a statement in June that the two companies were making preparations to resume operations.

Initial output at the Wafra oilfield is seen at 10,000 bpd, before rising to 70,000 bpd at the end of August, and then up to 145,000 bpd by the end of 2020, Abdullah al-Shammari, deputy chief executive for finance and management at Kuwait Gulf Oil Company, which operates the field, told Reuters in June.

Production also resumed on Monday at another shared field, Khafji, on July 1, after a one-month halt, the Kuwaiti oil ministry said.

Output from Khafji oilfield, which was halted for a month, is expected to be about 80,000 barrels per day (bpd) on July 1, before rising to 100,000 bpd two month later, Al-Shammari said.

Production is expected to reach 175,000 bpd from Khafji field by end of the year, he added.



Saudi Arabia's Non-oil Business Sector Resilient in March

The Saudi capital Riyadh. AFP
The Saudi capital Riyadh. AFP
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Saudi Arabia's Non-oil Business Sector Resilient in March

The Saudi capital Riyadh. AFP
The Saudi capital Riyadh. AFP

Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector activity grew rapidly in March with new orders boosted by lower prices and improved economic conditions, although the rate of growth slowed from January’s near 14-year high, a survey showed on Monday.

The seasonally adjusted Riyad Bank Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) edged down to 58.1 in March from 58.4 in February but remained far above the 50 mark signaling growth.

The new orders subindex slipped to 63.2 in March from February’s blistering 65.4 reading, Reuters reported.

Despite the slower momentum, businesses engaged in stockpiling, anticipating sustained sales growth.

Employment growth was driven by increased sales volumes and efforts to boost capacity. The survey data pointed to the best quarter for job creation in over 12 years.

Naif Al-Ghaith, Riyad Bank’s chief economist said that improved business conditions are supported by government efforts to enhance regulatory frameworks and infrastructure investments, paving the way for greater private and foreign investments.

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 plan to diversify its economy away from hydrocarbons aims to increase the non-oil sector’s contribution to GDP to 65 percent by 2030. It is currently over 50 percent.

Input cost inflation eased to a four-year low in March, prompting companies to reduce selling prices for the first time in six months amid strong market competition.

Backlogs of work increased sharply, the fastest since August 2018, due to higher orders and constrained capacity.

The survey showed a marked softening of business activity expectations for the year ahead across the non-oil economy, however.