Count on Kuwait

Kuwait thankful for cuts after missing output targets

Kuwait has temporarily dodged a bullet. Its Opec commitment for a cut of 131,000 barrels a day, to keep production beneath 2.75m b/d, has shifted scrutiny away from the country's failing plan to reach output of 4m b/d by 2020. Instead, the focus is on how and where state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) will make the cuts. Its job has involuntarily become easier: KPC missed a 3m b/d production target in 2016. The confidential results of KPC's assessment of its oil wells is due in late January and will identify the wells that would benefit most from unplanned maintenance, thus stemming output. The list will not be long and will likely prioritise work at mature wells to preserve their lo