KPC—outside the political bubble

Kuwait Petroleum Corporation is expanding its global footprint as it targets increased domestic oil and gas capacity

When KPC's chief executive Nizar al-Adsani stood up to address Petroleum Economist's third Energy Strategy Forum in Kuwait City in January he began with an apology on behalf of the country's oil minister, Bakheet al-Rashidi. The latter, he said, "has to be at the National Assembly [parliament] for a vote of confidence on one of our ministers". The oil minister's absence from the conference and the KPC boss' presence illustrate the differences between the two wings of Kuwait's energy management. The minister is caught up in the bare-knuckled hurly-burly of Kuwaiti politics—there have been no fewer than 21 oil ministers since 1980—while the head of the state energy firm isn't directly involved