Kuwait Petroleum Corp. plans to spend about 10 billion dinars ($33 billion) over five years to ramp up oil production capacity, betting on robust demand for decades to come.
“We’re looking to make massive investments,” Chief Executive Officer Sheikh Nawaf Al-Sabah said in an interview. That’s “not only to maintain our production capacity, but ultimately grow it like our strategy calls for us to do.”
“The market in oil demand — looking to 2050 and beyond — will continue to be more or less where it is now,” Sheikh Nawaf said. “Who’s going to supply that oil?
Kuwait is already among the world’s top 10 producers, pumping just under 2.5 million barrels a day. That puts it ahead of fellow OPEC members Nigeria and Libya. As oil fields in many countries go into decline, there’ll be increased need for those that can provide stable output, according to the CEO.
“You need to replace at least 3 million barrels a day of production capacity per year from existing fields worldwide,” he said. That means “bringing out a new Kuwait every year.”