KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait plans to spend some $ 100 billion on oil projects inside and outside the Gulf state over the next five years, a top oil executive said.
“Around $100 billion has been earmarked for oil projects ... 60 percent of it on upstream projects inside and outside Kuwait,” CEO of national oil conglomerate Kuwait Petroleum Corp. Faruq Al-Zanki said.
The expenditure is part of the emirate’s long-term strategy to raise output capacity to 4.0 million barrels per day from the current 3.0 million, Zanki said on the sidelines of the Kuwait Energy Projects conference organized by the Middle East Economic Digest (MEED).
Construction of a new 615,000 bpd refinery and the clean fuel project to modernize two of the country’s three refineries, both costing $30 billion, are part of the spending plan, Zanki said.
National refiner Kuwait National Petroleum Co. (KNPC) recently appointed Foster Wheeler and Amec companies as consultants for the two projects slated to be completed by 2018.
Zanki said that KNPC, a subsidiary of KPC, expects to tender the two projects by the start of next year after they had been repeatedly delayed due to political bickering.
The two projects are projected to raise Kuwait’s refining capacity to 1.4 million bpd from the current 930,000 bpd. When the two projects are complete, Kuwait plans to shut the Shuaiba refinery.
Kuwait is engaged in advanced talks with China and Vietnam for multi-billion-dollar joint ventures to build two oil refinery and petrochemical complexes.
The emirate also has oil production operations in several countries through its state-owned Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co. (KUFPEC).
Kuwait Petroleum International runs refineries and petrol stations in Europe as well.
Kuwait, OPEC’s third largest producer, says it sits on 10 percent of the world’s proven crude reserves and is pumping 3.0 million bpd.
Kuwait to spend $ 100 billion on oil projects over five years
Kuwait to spend $ 100 billion on oil projects over five years
Saudi Arabia’s cultural sector is a new economic engine between Riyadh and Paris, says ambassador
RIYADH: Culture has become a fundamental pillar in bilateral relations between France and Saudi Arabia, according to the French Ambassador to the Kingdom, Patrick Maisonnave.
Maisonnave noted its connection to the entertainment and tourism sectors, which makes it a new engine for economic cooperation between Riyadh and Paris.
He told Al-Eqtisadiah during the opening ceremony of La Fabrique in the Jax district of Diriyah that cultural cooperation with Saudi Arabia is an important element for its attractiveness in the coming decades.
La Fabrique is a space dedicated to artistic creativity and cultural exchange, launched as part of a partnership between the Riyadh Art program and the French Institute in Riyadh.
Running from Jan. 22 until Feb 14, the initiative will provide an open workspace that allows artists to develop and work on their ideas within a collaborative framework.
Launching La Fabrique as a space dedicated to artistic creativity
The ambassador highlighted that the transformation journey in the Kingdom under Vision 2030 has contributed to the emergence of a new generation of young artists and creators, alongside a growing desire in Saudi society to connect with culture and to embrace what is happening globally.
He affirmed that the relationship between the two countries is “profound, even cultural par excellence,” with interest from the Saudi side in French culture, matched by increasing interest from the French public and cultural institutions unfolding in the Kingdom.
Latest estimates indicate that the culture-based economy represents about 2.3 percent of France’s gross domestic product, equivalent to more than 90 billion euros ($106.4 billion) in annual revenues, according to government data. The sector directly employs more than 600,000 people, making it one of the largest job-creating sectors in the fields of creativity, publishing, cinema, and visual arts.
Saudi Arabia benefiting from French experience in the cultural field
Maisonnave explained that France possesses established cultural institutions, while Saudi Arabia is building a strong cultural sector, which opens the door for cooperation opportunities.
This comes as an extension of the signing of 10 major cultural agreements a year ago between French and Saudi institutions, aiming to enhance cooperation and transfer French expertise and knowledge to contribute to the development of the cultural system in the Kingdom.
He added that experiences like La Fabrique provide an opportunity to meet the new generation of Saudi creators, who have expressed interest in connecting with French institutions and artists in Paris and France.
La Fabrique encompasses a space for multiple contemporary artistic practices, including performance arts, digital and interactive arts, photography, music, and cinema, while providing the public with an opportunity to witness the stages of producing artistic works and interact with the creative process.
