Kuwaiti Oil Minister Khaled al-Fadhel has announced the resumption of crude shipments from the so-called Neutral Zone, which the country shares with Saudi Arabia, for the first time in five years.
The shipment, of about one million barrels will be loaded on a Kuwaiti tanker on Saturday and Sunday for export to Asia, he said.
“The export of this shipment, produced from the shared Wafra field, is in line with the orientation of the state of Kuwait to increase crude production after the expiry of the OPEC+ agreement on March 31,” he added, referring to a previous agreement between oil exporters to curb global oil supply.
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait signed an agreement in December to resume pumping at two major oilfields - Wafra and Khafji - in the shared Neutral Zone.
Also Friday, Fadhel said that Kuwait supports Saudi Arabia’s invitation for a meeting between OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers, an informal grouping known as OPEC+, to stabilize the oil market.
Sources said the OPEC+ meeting is planned for April 6 and will be held as a video conference.
