Kuwaiti Oil Minister Bakheet al-Rashidi and leaders of two state-owned energy companies have resigned, amid mounting allegations of corruption from parliamentary lawmakers.

Al-Rashidi’s resignation has been accepted by Kuwait’s parliament, according to local media reports.

The resignation of Kuwait Oil Company (KOC)’s CEO Jamal Abdul Aziz Mohammed Jaafar was accepted by the minister on 10 December.

Hatem Al-Awadhi, acting CEO of downstream firm Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (Kipic), is also reported to have resigned, citing personal grounds.

An Emiri decree is expected to be issued to appoint a new board for parent energy enterprise Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), as the three-year term of the current board, including the tenure of current CEO Nizar Al-Adsani, ends this week.

Al-Rashidi, who had been oil minister since December 2017, submitted his resignation earlier this month after lawmakers stepped up pressure on the government for his dismissal amid accusation.

He remained in office and travelled to Vienna to attend the Opec meeting with its non-Opec allies on 6 and 7 December.

In May, Al-Rashidi survived a no-confidence vote after being questioned in parliament over alleged embezzlement of funds.

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.

KPC issued a statement in October, responding to what was published about the committee’s report in local media. The company said the report contained “erroneous information based on incomplete information, and lacks accuracy and professionalism”. It denied any mismanagement of public funds or providing misleading information on the progress of projects.

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

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