Kuwait names new oil minister

24 December 2018
New minister's tasks include appointing a new leader at state-upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company

Kuwait’s prime minister has named new ministers in the government’s latest shakeup, including Khaled al-Fadhel, who takes over the key oil ministry portfolio, local newspapers reported.

The new ministers will take their oaths on 25 December.

Al-Fadhel, who received a doctorate in chemical engineering from Lehigh University in the US in 2004, had been undersecretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry from January 2018. It was not clear if Al-Fadhel will also handle the ministry of electricity like his predecessor.

Kuwait’s energy sector has been embroiled in political wrangling for about two decades, during which time there have been 15 different oil ministers.

He now takes over the oil ministry at a critical juncture for the sector, with Kuwait struggling to meet its long held targets, and also attempting to manage output cuts under a new deal with the oil producers’ group, OPEC.

His predecessor Bakheet al-Rashidi resigned earlier in December amid allegations of corruption from parliament. He had only been in office for a year, surviving a no-confidence vote in May, after an intense 11-hour “grilling” in parliament where he was interrogated by opposition lawmakers over claims of embezzlement.

Following the formation of a government-appointed committee to investigate the charges, its subsequent report led to open calls for his resignation from members of parliament.

One of the first tasks for Al-Fadhel will be to appoint a new leader at state-upstream operator, Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), after the chief executive, Jamal Jaafar resigned at short notice in early-December. He has been replaced by KOC’s deputy CEO for exploration and gas, Menahi al-Anzi, although this is only on an acting basis. Jaafar had led KOC since taking over from Hashem Hashem in January 2016.

The lack of continuity at the ministry has been a challenge for Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC)  and its subsidiaries, which have been working to boost the state’s oil production capacity to 4 million barrels a day (b/d) by 2020. Production is currently about 3.2 million b/d.

KOC officials have now begun to concede its target will not be reached. Al-Anzhi told reporters at a conference earlier in December that production capacity was only likely to be 3.25 million b/d by 2020. It was meant to contribute 3.65 million b/d out of the 4 million b/d target, with output from the Partitioned Neutral Zone shared with Saudi Arabia providing the remainder. Reaching the 3.65 million b/d target may take another four years, Al-Anzhi was reported saying.

 

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