Gulf oil producer Kuwait has awarded contracts worth around 350 million Kuwaiti dinars ($1.15 billion to Chinese companies and other firms for the supply of 31 oil rigs, a local newspaper reported on Sunday.

The largest contract was awarded by the state-owned Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) to China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) for the supply and installation of 10 rigs, the Arabic language daily Alanba said, quoting KOC sources.

KOC, the emirate's upstream arm, also awarded contracts for the supply of four rigs each to Kuwait Drilling Company and Burgan Drilling Company of Kuwait.

The remaining contracts were won by 7 foreign firms, including MB Holding of Oman, PR Mariott Drilling of the UK and Egyptian companies.

The report said the new rigs are part of Kuwait's plan to lift its sustainable oil production capacity to four million barrels per day by 2040 from just over three million bpd at present.

Kuwait controls around 101 billion barrels of proven crude deposits.

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@refinitiv.com)

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