Kuwait to open offshore oil, gas fields to foreign firms: What to know
The Gulf country and OPEC member has made significant oil and gas discoveries since 2023.
Kuwait's government announced on Tuesday that the country's state oil company plans to invite foreign energy companies to help it develop its recent crude and gas discoveries.
What happened: In his opening remarks at the Kuwait Oil and Gas Show, Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah al-Ahmad al-Sabah said that state firm Kuwait Petroleum Corporation will turn to foreign majors for collaboration and assistance in developing its offshore fields, Reuters reported.
“Kuwait is a partner ready to engage with the world through cooperation, innovation and long-term investment,” Sheikh Ahmad said. He did not specify which offshore fields would be involved or the form such foreign investment would take, but added that KPC is in talks with international financial institutions to lease Kuwait’s domestic crude oil pipeline network.
Kuwait has recently prioritized raising output from new discoveries, including the Jazah and Nokhitha fields. Alongside these newer discoveries, another major project moving forward is the Durra oil and gas field. Kuwaiti Oil Minister Tariq Al-Roumi told Reuters on Monday that he expects tenders for the project, being developed in cooperation with Saudi Arabia, to be issued this year. That field, discovered back in 1967 but undergoing further development, is estimated to hold roughly 20 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 310 million barrels of oil. The multi-million-dollar development, aimed for completion in 2029, is expected to produce 1 billion cubic feet of gas per day. The field lies in a partitioned neutral zone between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, where the two governments announced a new oil discovery last year with initial production rates exceeding 500 barrels per day.
Why it matters: Kuwait is OPEC’s fifth-largest oil producer, with current production capacity of around 3.2 million bpd as of late last year and plans to raise that figure to 4 million bpd by 2035. In October 2023, Kuwait Oil Company announced plans to increase gas production capacity to 1.5 trillion cubic feet per day by 2040. State firm Kuwait Petroleum Corporation has said it will invest about $410 billion through 2040 to support these expansion plans.
For years, Kuwait has relied on mature onshore fields, but achieving its longer-term oil and gas targets will require bringing new discoveries into production. In recent years, KPC and its subsidiaries have stepped up exploration activity, including offshore, as the country looks to unlock new sources of oil and gas growth. Since 2023, Kuwait has reported a series of significant discoveries.
Some of the most notable finds include the Jazah natural gas offshore field, discovered in October. KOC said in a statement at the time that the initial exploration had "the highest production rate from a vertical well in the Minagish formation in Kuwait’s history.” The first tests from the Jazah-1 well revealed “exceptional production exceeding 29 million cubic feet of gas per day, and more than 5,000 barrels per day of condensate,” KOC said, estimating reserves of around 1 trillion cubic feet of gas and 120 million barrels of condensate.
In January 2025, KPC made a discovery at the Al-Jlaiaa offshore field, estimating reserves of around 800 million barrels of medium-density oil and 600 billion standard cubic feet of associated gas.
Against this backdrop of new discoveries, Kuwait is inviting foreign energy companies to participate in developing new oil and gas fields and to share capital and technical expertise. The push comes as the country’s leadership seeks to accelerate stalled economic reforms following years of political gridlock. On Sunday, Emir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah ordered a cabinet reshuffle aimed at advancing the reform agenda, including the appointment of new development, economic, industry and finance ministers and the separation of the Ministry of Finance from the Ministry of Investment.
Know more: Kuwait’s state-owned oil companies have also been consolidating since April 2025, when the government began merging its two state-owned oil firms Kuwait National Petroleum Company and Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company. Analysts said that the move aims to streamline and improve efficiency across government-owned energy companies.
The consolidation mirrors a broader trend across the Gulf’s energy sector. In 2018, Qatar merged Qatargas and RasGas to form QatarEnergy.
In February 2025, Dubai-based United Energy (MENA) Limited agreed to acquire the upstream oil and gas operations of Apex International Energy LP in Egypt, with Kuwait Energy PLC as a guarantor.
A month later, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company merged its polyolefin business with that of Austrian OMV, creating a larger chemicals company. Polyolefins are lightweight plastics widely used in packaging, consumer goods and pipes.
In April last year, UAE renewables company Masdar acquired Greek renewable energy firm Terna Energy.
