Kuwait, Saudi Arabia start joint production at Wafra and Khafji

Kuwait and Saudi Arabia will start trial oil production from the jointly operated Wafra and Khafji oilfields. Both countries agreed in December to end a 5-year dispute over the border area known as the Neutral Zone, allowing production to resume (OGJ Online, Dec. 6, 2019).

Kuwait state news agency KUNA, citing Kuwait’s oil minister Khaled al-Fadhel, said the production, divided between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, will increase gradually until it reaches normal levels and that production from the zone is expected to reach 550,000 b/d before the end of the year.

The fields produce heavy, high-sulfur crude and can pump up to 0.5% of the world’s oil supply. Kuwait aims to boost its oil production capacity to 4 million b/d by 2040.