Energy

Kuwait’s position as one of the biggest players in the international energy markets is backed by its proven reserves, currently the sixth-largest in the world. While international oil prices will have a significant impact on state revenues moving forward, low production costs and ample fiscal reserves should shield the country from the price downturn. The country increased its oil production by more than 14% between 2007 and 2014, from an estimated 2.57m bpd to 2.93m bpd, according to OPEC. Moving forward, the government has outlined plans to develop critical infrastructure projects and a number of major oil developments for a total five-year investment of more than $116bn, with spending in the oil and gas sector to top $100bn. In the non-oil segment, the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research is investigating the potential for alternative energy sources and has recently launched three projects with a combined capacity of 70 MW.

This chapter contains interviews with Hashem Sayed Hashem, CEO, Kuwait Oil Company; and Anas Meerza, Group CEO, National Technology Enterprises Company.