Kuwait and Saudi Arabia will suspend oil production from Khafji oil field and closed affiliated facilities for 30 days starting June 1, following an output cut deal between OPEC and non-OPEC countries, an official said Wednesday.
Abdullah Al-Sumaiti, Kuwait Gulf Oil Company’s (KGOC) acting CEO, said the joint Executive Committee of Al-Kharji Joint Operations (KJO) decided to suspend production and close facilities.
He said in a statement Kuwait and Saudi Arabia first considered a voluntary reduction of 50 percent of the production of Al-Khafji joint field.
But due to environmental concerns, he said, the two countries decided to suspend the production completely.
This decision, said Al-Sumaiti, followed OPEC+ agreement, reached last month, to cut 9.7 million barrels per day for the months of May and June in an attempt to stop a sharp decline in oil prices. OPEC+ agreement, he added, aimed at restoring the stability of international oil markets.
Kuwait Minisry of Oil Khaled Al-Fadhel announced, on April 3, Kuwait would export first shipment of Al-Khafji crude oil from the divided zone for the first time since five years ago.
Kuwaiti Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah and Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman inked, on December 24, an agreement affiliated with the accord for dividing the neutral zone and another one on partitioning the adjacent submerged zone.
Dr. Al-Fadhel and his Saudi counterpart signed, during the same day, a memorandum of understanding on procedures for resuming the oil production by the two sides.
The KGOC, a subsidiary of the KPC, was founded in 2002 to take charge of Kuwait’s share of the crude in the divided zone. It succeeded the Arabian Oil Company, contract of which with Kuwait had expired.
It explores for oil, develop and produce the crude in the land section of the divided zone that encompasses fields of South Umm Qadir, Al-Wafra, South Al-Fawares, Al-Hema, Arq, the sea region that includes oil and gas fields in Al-Khafji, Lulu, Al-Hout and Al-Durra.
