Kuwait Oil Sector Inches Open

Kuwait is cautiously expanding foreign participation in its tightly controlled energy sector as it targets a one-third increase in output to 4 million barrels per day within a decade. Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah said Kuwait Petroleum Corp. will invite international partners to help develop three recent offshore discoveries and is considering a potential $7 billion lease-and-leaseback deal for its crude pipeline network. The opening remains limited, with foreign firms expected to receive service contracts rather than equity stakes in upstream assets. This week, Kuwait signed an exploration studies agreement with TotalEnergies and awarded a five-year, $1.5 billion services contract to SLB.