KNPC authorized to import and distribute gas cylinders in Kuwait
The move marks a major step in Kuwait Petroleum Corporation’s plan to transfer operations of the Shuaiba and Umm Al-Aish LNG plants from KOTC to KNPC, advancing the broader strategy to integrate Kuwait’s oil sector operations.
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Kuwait Petroleum Corporation had earlier directed the transfer of the domestic cooking gas cylinder factory from Kuwait Oil Tanker Company to Kuwait National Petroleum Company as part of its efforts to consolidate oil sector companies under a new administrative structure.
The Official Gazette “Kuwait Today” published Minister of Commerce and Industry Khalifa Al-Ajeel’s Decision No. 169 of 2025, amending Decision No. 33 of 1986 on the ban of importing gas cylinders of all types, sizes, and accessories. The amendment allows the Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) to introduce liquefied gas cylinders and regulators to the local market alongside the Kuwait Oil Tanker Company, while prohibiting others from doing so, Al Anba newspaper reported.
Previously, the Kuwait Oil Tanker Company was the sole entity authorized to import and distribute liquefied gas cylinders and accessories under Ministerial Resolution No. 11 of 1986, issued by the Ministry of Finance on April 27, 1986, based on Article Five of Import Law No. 43 of 1964, and Ministerial Resolution No. 68 of 1980, which also prohibited others from importing liquefied gas regulators.
This move represents a significant step in implementing the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation’s (KPC) plan to transfer the operations of the liquefied natural gas plants in Shuaiba and Umm Al-Aish from the Kuwait Oil Tanker Company (KOTC) to the Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) as part of a broader strategy to integrate oil sector operations.
The new Decision No. 169 of 2025 amends Resolution No. 33 of 1986, which had previously banned the import of gas cylinders of all types, sizes, and accessories.
Article 1 amends the second clause of Resolution No. 33 of 1986 to state that the Kuwait Oil Tanker Company and the Kuwait National Petroleum Company shall be exclusively responsible for the import and distribution of gas cylinders and their accessories within the State of Kuwait.
Article 2 amends the text of Article One of Resolution No. 83 of 2003 to prohibit the local trade of gas cylinders and their accessories, including regulators, hoses, and valves of all types, sizes, and shapes, unless imported by either the Kuwait Oil Tanker Company or the Kuwait National Petroleum Company.
Article 3 stipulates that the Kuwait National Petroleum Company will replace the Kuwait Oil Tanker Company in implementing the provisions of Resolution No. 33 of 1986 and its amendments, once all legal and executive procedures to transfer ownership of the gas cylinder filling factories from KOTC to KNPC are completed.
Article 4 clarifies that all other provisions of Resolution No. 33 of 1986 and Resolution No. 83 of 2003 will remain in effect, except as specifically amended by this decision.
Article 5 mandates that all officials implement the resolution in their respective capacities, effective immediately upon issuance and to be published in the Official Gazette.
KPC had earlier directed the transfer of the domestic cooking gas cylinder factory from KOTC to KNPC as part of its efforts to consolidate oil sector companies under a new administrative structure.
Sheikh Nawaf Al-Saud, CEO of KPC, issued a letter to the CEOs of affiliated oil companies, noting that the corporation is taking decisive steps to merge its subsidiaries as part of a broader transformation initiative. This follows the Board of Directors’ decision in May 2024, which approved initial measures to implement the sector’s transformation while granting the CEO sufficient authority to initiate the necessary procedures.
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