Kuwait to raise output to compensate for oilfield closures

Kuwait will raise its oil output by 250,000-270,000 barrels a day by the end of the year to make up for production lost from two oilfields the OPEC member shares with Saudi Arabia that were forced to shut, a Kuwaiti oil industry source said.

The Khafji oilfield was shut last year for environmental reasons. It had been producing 280,000-300,000 bpd. The Wafra oilfield closed in May due to operating difficulties. U.S. oil major Chevron operates the field on behalf of the Saudi government.

So far, extra output from Kuwait’s other fields has made up for around 200,000 bpd of the production lost from Wafra and Khafji, the source said, adding that Kuwait’s total output is almost 2.9 million bpd.

Kuwait has limited spare production capacity and has therefore been harder hit by the closures than Saudi Arabia. Kuwait’s production capacity is estimated at around 3.2 million bpd, compared to Saudi Arabia’s 12.5 million bpd.

In July, Kuwaiti media reported on a leaked a letter from Kuwaiti Oil Minister Ali al-Omair to his Saudi counterpart Ali al-Naimi in which he said Riyadh would have to compensate for future losses arising from the closure of the Khafji oilfield.