KPC chief calls Strait of Hormuz closure Kuwait’s biggest oil crisis since 1990
- You can build all the pipelines you want and create all the storage capacities you want but without guaranteed freedom of navigation and the unrestricted flow of hydrocarbons through the Strait of Hormuz, another energy crisis could emerge soon – KPC CEO Sheikh Nawaf Al-Saud
- Kuwait prepares emergency plans to store oil, expand tanker fleet and explore pipeline options
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz following the war between the United States and Iran has triggered the most serious crisis Kuwait’s oil sector has faced since the Iraqi invasion in 1990, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation CEO Sheikh Nawaf Al-Saud said.
In an interview with AFP, Al-Saud said Kuwait would be able to quickly restore oil production to pre-war levels, and potentially exceed them, once the strait reopens and shipping returns to normal.
Asked how much oil Kuwait could currently supply to international markets, Al-Saud declined to disclose production figures, saying the corporation preferred to keep that information confidential during the crisis.
He said KPC is implementing emergency measures to safeguard Kuwait’s oil exports, including storing crude outside the Strait of Hormuz and closer to its customers. The corporation is also working to increase the size of its tanker fleet and discussing crude oil pipeline options with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Al-Saud stressed that the Strait of Hormuz remains critical to global energy flows and that there is no substitute for reopening it without restrictions.
“You can build all the pipelines you want and create all the storage capacities you want,” he said, but without guaranteed freedom of navigation and the unrestricted flow of hydrocarbons through the Strait of Hormuz, another energy crisis could emerge soon.
