Two contracts tendered by state-owned oil companies in Kuwait have been delayed amid an ongoing political deadlock in the country.

The scope of one of the contracts includes the construction of two new 132KV substations and 33 power lines in North Kuwait.

The bid deadline for this contract, which has been tendered by state-owned upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), has been postponed from 4 September to 16 October, according to Kuwait’s Central Agency for Public Tenders (CAPT).

KOC is a subsidiary of the country’s national oil company, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC).

The second tender that has been delayed was tendered directly by KPC, and its scope covers the supply of sulphuric acid to refineries operated by its downstream subsidiary, Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC).

The closing date for bid submissions on this contract has been postponed from 25 August to 8 September.

Significant delays

Many projects and contracts in Kuwait’s oil and gas sector have seen significant delays over the past three years.

Ongoing political issues in the country, which have included a standoff between the government and the elected parliament that has hindered fiscal reform, contributed to this.

Earlier this month, Kuwait formally dissolved parliament as the Gulf Arab state's crown prince moved to resolve the standoff.

Parliamentary elections are now expected in October.

Parliament has yet to approve the state budget and, under current plans, the budget for the fiscal year 2022/23 will be approved after the elections.

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