OPEC producer Kuwait will soon launch plans to merge some of its state oil companies as part of a restructuring programme intended to boost performance and cut costs.
The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), which manages the Gulf country’s hydrocarbon sector, will oversee the restructuring plan, which has been approved by the cabinet and the Supreme Petroleum Council.
In a report this week, the Arabic language daily Alseyassah said the first merger process involves the Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) and the Kuwait Integrated Petrochemical industries Company (KIPIC).
It said the merger of the two KPC-affiliated firms could begin at the start of the 2025-2026 fiscal year, which begins on April 1.
The Kuwaiti daily Alanba said in 2024 that KNPC has devised plans for the merger of 4 of its subsidiaries and that the process would start at the end of March.
It said the merger would involve KIPIC with KNPC and the Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) with the Kuwait Gulf Oil Company (KGOC), which manages Kuwait’s oil interests in the Neutral Zone shared by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.