Oil is a priority for Asian countries. Kuwait is a prime example. Kuwait Petroleum Corp., the country’s largest company, plans to invest 10 billion dinars ($33 billion) over five years to boost its oil production capacity. The company’s management has been betting on steady demand for decades. “We're looking to make massive investments,” Chief Executive Officer Sheikh Nawaf Al-Sabah said in an interview. That's “not only to maintain our production capacity but ultimately grow it like our strategy calls for us to do.”
Kuwait's optimistic outlook on hydrocarbon demand aligns with the expectations of other oil producers and market players. However, the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that by 2030, oil consumption will decline because of a shift to electric vehicles and renewable energy sources.
Kuwait Petroleum Corp.’s investments in the raw materials sector are part of a broader 20-billion-dinar investment program launched in April 2024. This initiative covers everything from extraction to petrochemicals. The company aims to achieve a production capacity of 3.2 million barrels per day by 2025. By 2035, the target is 4 million barrels per day. "The market in oil demand — looking to 2050 and beyond — will continue to be more or less where it is now," Sheikh Nawaf Al-Sabah said.
Experts rank Kuwait among the top 10 global oil producers, with an output of around 2.5 million barrels per day. The country is banking on growing demand as many oil fields worldwide are depleting, while the need for reliable production sites is rising. "You need to replace at least 3 million bpd of production capacity per year from existing fields worldwide,” he said. That means “bringing out a new Kuwait every year.”