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OPEC producer Kuwait is planning to merge its two main upstream and downstream oil companies in 2024 as part of a plan to restructure its hydrocarbon industry, a local newspaper reported on Thursday.
The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), which manages the Gulf country’s hydrocarbon sector, has approved the merger plan, the Arabic language daily Alqabas said, quoting KPC sources.
The merger this year involves the Kuwait National Oil Company (KNPC) and the Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (KIPIC), it said.
“The merger this year is part of a government decision to restructure the oil sector to reduce operation costs and upgrade performance,” the report said.
It noted that the move comes amidst plans by Kuwait to expand oil and gas production capacity to 4 million barrels-per-day and 1.5 billion cubic-feet-per-day respectively.
Kuwait has eight main state-owned oil companies and controls nearly 101 billion barrels of recoverable crude deposits, the world’s sixth largest.
(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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