State-owned upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) is preparing to tender Kuwait’s first offshore field development contracts and an official invitation to bid is expected to be issued in the fourth quarter of the year, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.

“Work is progressing at KOC with an eye on releasing on official statement in October or November this year,” said the source.

On 10 May MEED reported that KOC’s Prospect Study Evaluation department was working on a study to look at various locations and evaluate feasibility.

It is thought there will be two offshore drilling projects tendered, with one rig allocated for each project.

One is expected to be located in the Bay of Kuwait and another will be located outside the Bay of Kuwait near the Divided Zone, which it shares with Saudi Arabia.

The offshore projects are being fast-tracked to compensate for lost production from the Divided Zone, which has seen oil production rapidly decline over recent months and is expected to fall to zero over recent weeks.

KOC is also looking to ramp up production in northern Kuwait to compensate for the lost production in the Divided Zone.

Before the collapse in production in the Divided Zone Kuwait was already struggling to raise oil production from 2.8 million b/d to hit its 2020 production target of 4 million b/d.