Kuwait has implemented a precautionary reduction in crude oil production and refining throughput after the ongoing attacks by Iran against the country and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said on Saturday. The cuts are another disruption for the global energy industry because of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, as oil and gas storage at facilities in the Middle East Gulf rapidly fill. Oil fields in Iraq have already cut production and Qatar declared force majeure on its huge volumes of gas exports, while the United Arab Emirates is most likely to cut next.
Kuwait’s output reduction was after “Iranian threats to safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz” and part of its “risk management and business continuity strategy,” KPC said in a statement. The national oil company did not say by how much it had reduced output.
In February, Kuwait produced around 2.6 million barrels per day of crude oil.
The adjustment was strictly precautionary and would be reviewed as the situation develops, KPC said, and it remained ready to restore production levels once conditions allow. The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has already spilled beyond Iran’s borders, as Tehran has responded by hitting Israel and Gulf Arab states hosting U.S. military installations and Israel has launched fresh attacks in Lebanon after the Iran-aligned militia Hezbollah fired across the border.
(Reporting by Yousef Saba; Writing by Muhammad Al Gebaly and Stephanie Kelly Editing by Tomasz Janowski)