KOC eyes higher production capacity
KUWAIT: Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) is actively working towards increasing crude production capacity, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) CEO Hashem Hashem said on Friday. In a statement to the press, Hashem said the information regarding Kuwait Oil Company’s production capacity’s decline doesn’t provide a complete picture of the Kuwaiti oil sector’s performance in general nor KOC’s performance. He clarified that there are 500,000 barrels per day of potential capacity that is pending to be unlocked as associated capital projects and drilling and workover programs are completed in the coming two years.
The KPC CEO clarified that KOC is currently implementing numerous strategic projects that are directly linked to increasing sustainable production capacity to reach 3.2 million barrels per day gradually in 2025, where the Divided Zone capacity will contribute the additional 350,000 barrels per day to reach overall Kuwait production capacity of 3.5 million barrels per day. The main projects can be summarized as follows: Commissioning of two new gathering centers and complete revamp of several existing gathering centers; Building water handling facilities; Building water injection facilities to increase production and maintain reservoir pressure; Upgrading current Jurassic production facilities and establish two additional facilities to increase light crude production. This plan will be implemented in combination with an integrated drilling program of 500 wells per year annually on average and around 2,000 wells workover, he said, adding that this will be through 71 drilling rigs and 62 workover rigs working in the different areas.
Furthermore, Hashem pointed out that activities in the divided zone are progressing positively after the agreement between the partners, where it is expected to reach preceasing the production level in 2022. The KPC CEO explained that KOC is exerting all efforts to achieve the targeted production capacity, where these efforts were recognized during the wide-spread of COVID-19 virus, as KOC has successfully commissioned Lower Fars Heavy Oil facilities and achieved its targeted production of 60,000 barrels. He concluded by saying that despite the close-down and the contractors’ abilities to implement projects, GC-31 has recently commissioned with a design capacity of 100,000 barrels per day, while reiterating that the State of Kuwait is always committed to fulfilling its customers’ needs and continuing its role as a secure and reliable crude and petroleum product supplier to the international markets.