Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), an oil company headquartered in Al Ahmadi, Kuwait, is a subsidiary of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, a government-owned holding company. Kuwait was the world's 10th largest petroleum and other liquids producer in 2010.[1] The company produced a total of 1.7 million barrels per day.
Kuwait's oil reserves have been nationalized since 1975,[2] with the KOC, established in 1979,[3] holding sole rights to the exploration and production of oil and gas within Kuwait.[4] KOC operations and activities of exploring and producing oil make up nearly 90% of the national budget, which is still highly dependent on oil in its resources.
Kuwait's oil reserves are estimated at 100 billion barrels.[5]
History
The Kuwait Oil Company Limited was established in 1934, through an alliance between the Anglo-Persian Oil Company and the American Gulf Oil Company,[6] and is currently a subsidiary of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC).
The oil concession rights were awarded to the company on 23 December 1934,[7] and it started drilling operations in 1936.
The first oil discovery was made in 1938 in the Burgan field,[8] which is still considered the second largest oil field in the world. Discoveries then followed in Magwa in 1951, Ahmadi in 1952, Raudhatain in 1955, Sabriya in 1957, and Minagish in 1959.
The commercial export of crude oil began in 1946.[9]
In August 1990, Iraq’s leader, Saddam Hussein, ordered the occupation of Kuwait. But as Iraqi forces pulled out from Kuwait in 1991, they set set fire to over 700 Kuwaiti oil wells. The smoke plume above them initially stretched for 800 miles. Nearly 300 oil lakes formed on the surface of the desert, polluting the soil. An international coalition of firefighters battled the fires for months until the last well was finally capped on 6 November 1991.[10]
In 2005, KOC lowered its production plateau estimates for the Greater Burgan area from 2 million barrels per day to 1.7 million barrels per day over a 20-30 year period, citing field exhaustion.[11]
In 2023, KOC signed contracts worth $1.73 billion expanding the KERP which aims at repairing the soil of oilfields destroyed during Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.[12]
Production by year, by field (x 1,000 barrels)[22]
Year
Burgan Magwa Ahmadi
Raudhatain
Sabriyah
Gudair
Minagish
Bahrah
1946
5,931
1947
16,225
1948
46,547
1949
89,930
1950
125,722
1951
204,910
1952
273,433
1953
314,592
1954
347,319
1955
398,494
1956
399,871
1957
416,045
1958
509,720
1959
504,855
1960
559,100
35,200
1961
553,926
41,900
1,400
1962
620,000
47,200
2,100
1963
647,700
48,700
3,500
5,600
1964
682,200
53,700
14,100
4,200
20,600
1965
693,200
56,900
17,000
4,900
19,900
1966
716,800
61,400
22,600
4,900
24,800
1967
723,800
59,900
22,600
4,900
25,500
1968
759,700
71,200
26,900
4,900
23,400
1969
777,600
77,200
29,700
33,500
20,600
1,400
1970
806,500
77,900
60,200
32,800
19,300
1,400
1971
858,700
81,600
71,200
34,200
20,700
1,400
1972
882,000
83,900
74,300
34,900
21,300
1,400
1973
809,200
76,400
67,900
32,800
19,300
1,400
1974
665,100
77,000
45,000
25,000
18,500
0
1975
530,400
78,500
25,000
19,000
18,000
1976
574,100
80,453
14,689
13,024
17,715
1977
533,860
70,644
14,825
12,637
18,028
1978
552,700
90,200
32,300
8,300
9,600
1979
618,130
128,369
40,918
14,357
7,419
1980
398,000
70,000
25,300
7,000
6,000
Operations
KOC produces three grades of crude oil: Kuwaiti Export Crude, light crude and heavy crude.
On October 9th, 2023, Kuwait's oil minister announced the country would prepare the infrastructure for the Durra gas field, in an attempt to boost fossil fuel production. The strategy aims to raise overall oil production capacity to 4 million barrels per day by 2035.[5] On May 6th, 2024, in an effort to diversify its energy strategy and enhance its renewable energy portfolio, Kuwait announced plans for a large-scale solar energy project.[23] The project is spearheaded by the Ministry of Electricity and Water in collaboration with the KOC. The two entities have inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) outlining the framework for a global operator model whereby a suitable entity will be selected via a meticulously prepared tender process to execute the project. As per the outlined agreement, the chosen company will procure the energy through a contractual agreement spanning 25 to 30 years. The ambitious initiative aims to generate 1 gigawatt of electricity using solar power.
↑ "Historical Resume of Oil Production From Fields of the Arabian Platform in Kuwait, Through 1980". The Petroleum Resources of the Middle East. Energy Information Administration. May 1983. p.144.
↑ 1 dry wildcat at Umm Gudair (20 miles west of Burgan) abandoned at 8,071ft. Same rig was moved 99 miles in 40 hours and started drilling wildcat Raudhatain No. 1 (57 miles NNW of Ahmadi) which was still drilling at depth of 7,363ft at year's end
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