Kuwait looks to become a top OPEC producer with massive output expansion

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One of OPEC’s largest producers, Kuwait, plans to boost its crude oil production capacity to 3.15 million barrels per day (bpd) within four years, from 2.7 million bpd now, the government said on July 17.

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Kuwait also intends to raise its natural gas production by 79% over the next four years, according to the government plans reported by The National.

Kuwait is currently OPEC’s fifth-largest producer after Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Iran, according to secondary sources in OPEC’s latest Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) published last week.

In May and June, Kuwait pumped 2.55 million bpd of crude oil, down from 2.65 million bpd in April, as the country is among several OPEC+ producers that announced additional cuts to production between May and December 2023. As part of these cuts totaling 1.66 million bpd, Kuwait has pledged a 128,000-bpd production cut.

As Kuwait reduced its oil production, Iran – exempted from the cuts – has been raising its own output and has surpassed Kuwait as OPEC’s fourth-largest oil producer.

For next year, Kuwait’s production quota is 2.676 million bpd, OPEC said when the producers with the additional cuts decided to extend those cuts until the end of 2024, “to achieve and sustain a stable oil market, and to provide long-term guidance for the market.”

It’s not only Kuwait that plans higher crude oil production capacity this decade. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also intend to boost their respective capacities, each by 1 million bpd. The UAE is accelerating plans to raise its oil production capacity to 5 million bpd from 4 million bpd, while OPEC’s top producer and the world’s largest crude oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, aims to raise its crude oil production capacity to 13 million bpd by 2027 from 12 million bpd now.