Kuwait is looking to implement several new initiatives aimed at increasing efficiency, including the gradual increase of gas prices in the country.

Nizer al-Adsani, the new head of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said that a range of solutions were being considered and raising gas prices is one of these.

Speaking at the MEED Kuwait Energy & Efficiency Conference being held in Kuwait, Al-Adsani said that the supply-demand imbalance of gas had to be addressed across the GCC.

“We in the GCC can address this issue by raising gas prices gradually, improving energy efficiency through new regulation…increasing penetration of alternative power sources in the energy mix and invest in alternative methods for enhanced oil recovery,” said al-Adsani.

The official gave no timescale on gas price rises, but they are expected to be phased in over the next few years.

The GCC has some of the cheapest gas prices for industrial use in the world. Saudi Arabia charges $0.75 per million BTU for industrial use ethane and the rest of the GCC charges similar, or slightly higher prices for the resource.

Only Qatar has adequate gas to meet domestic demand in the GCC, but despite shortages any attempts to raise gas prices by other member states in the past have met with fierce resistance from industrial sectors such as petrochemicals.