The field has been shut since October last year
Kuwait says S Arabia must compensate for Khafji’s oilfield closure
KUWAIT, July 29, 2015
Kuwait has said the continued closure of the Khafji oilfield it shares with Saudi Arabia will create huge losses Riyadh must compensate for in future, a local daily reported.
Al Rai newspaper based its report on a leaked letter written by Kuwaiti oil minister Ali Al Omair to his Saudi counterpart Ali Al Naimi. It quoted from the letter but did not reprint it in full. No date is mentioned.
"I urge your Excellency to take adequate measures to ... resume production at Khafji," Omair wrote. "By keeping production and exports shut, Kuwait will incur huge losses which will be borne by the Saudi government for violation of the (50-year old) agreement and the 2010 operations agreement."
The field has been shut since October last year for non-compliance with new Saudi environmental standards. It is operated by Al-Khafji Joint Operations Co (KJO), a joint venture between AGOC, a subsidiary of state oil firm Saudi Aramco, and Kuwait Gulf Oil Co (KGOC).
Following the report, the chief executive of Kuwait Gulf Oil Co (KGOC) was quoted as saying on state news agency Kuna that relations with Saudi Arabia wee solid and a committee will investigates why the correspondence was leaked.
Before the closure, the Khafji field produced around 280,000 bpd to 300,000 bpd.
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait also share the Wafra oilfield, which has been shut since May due to operating difficulties. US oil major Chevron operates the field on behalf of the Saudi government. --Reuters
