The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), the national oil company of the seventh-largest OPEC oil producer, is signalling renewed determination to get the state's stalled energy programme back in gear.
It is not entirely up to the company, as the Kuwait Supreme Petroleum Council, its cabinet and fractious parliament must all agree if any big projects are to move ahead.
Nevertheless, KPC this month unveiled a US$90 billion (Dh330.57bn), five-year investment programme aimed at relaunching upstream and downstream oil and gas projects that include new field developments, enhanced oil recovery and refinery construction. Most have languished on the drawing board for a decade or more, the victims of long-running parliamentary disputes.
Following a recent changing of the guard, KPC is now led by Farouk al Zanki, a veteran petroleum engineer who formerly headed Kuwait Oil Company, the upstream arm of the state petroleum company. He was named chief executive of KPC in September, succeeding Saad al Shuwaib, who had held the post since 2007, capping a long career in KPC's refining and petrochemicals division.
A decree enacted just a week ago formalised Mr al Zanki's position as KPC's new chief, about six months after the Supreme Petroleum Council, which sets energy policy in Kuwait, informed Mr al Shuwaib that his three-year term would not be renewed.
"We are serious about the implementation of the ambitious strategy to meet the growing demand for energy on the local and global markets," Mr al Zanki said this month on the sidelines of a development conference in Kuwait. "The corporation's targeted production capacity for 2020 is projected at 4 million barrels of oil a day (bpd)."
He estimated Kuwait's current output capacity at 3.3 million bpd, exceeding the UAE's capacity by almost 14 per cent. Both Gulf oil exporters, however, have recently pumped about 2.4 million bpd of oil, including natural gas condensate, with the UAE marginally in the lead.
Mr al Zanki said a large part of KPC's budget next year for energy development had been ear-marked for oil developments, including major projects to boost output capacity from the emirate's neglected northern oilfields and a hoped-for relaunch of a strategic $16bn project to build Kuwait's fourth oil refinery. He said KPC was ready to provide the petroleum council with any information that would allow the council to tender the refinery project's main contracts.
Due to the "constant tug of war" between Kuwait's cabinet, appointed by the country's emir, and its elected parliament, however, KPC has seldom been able to spend all of its budget, says Samuel Ciszuk, the senior Middle East energy analyst at IHS Global Insight.
One of Mr al Zanki's chief unofficial tasks will therefore be to defuse conflicts between KPC and parliamentarians who distrusted his predecessor. One problem is that many members of Kuwait's parliament do not approve of foreign involvement in the country's petroleum sector. The technocrats at KPC, on the other hand, including Mr al Zanki, regard gaining access to the advanced technology of international oil companies as essential.
A more central problem is that under Kuwait's constitution, parliament has no direct say in oil policy. The oil ministry, currently headed by Sheikh Ahmad Al Sabah, a prominent member of the Kuwaiti Royal Family, is primarily a regulatory body that, in its own words, exists to assist the extra-parliamentary supreme petroleum council in supervising and implementing the council's decisions.
"The oil wealth is the backbone of the national economy and the main source of income," the ministry goes on to state in a strategy document posted on its website.
Parliament's distrust of the arrangement has for years held up economic development.
"While most sectors in Kuwait have suffered from the general political deadlock of the last decade, the oil sector has in particular been targeted by parliamentarians trying to extend the powers of their body over the industry," says Mr Ciszuk. "The parliament has used other oversight abilities and powers to put spokes in the wheel of government-launched upstream and downstream development plans."
Those abilities include powers to instigate anti-corruption investigations and enforce transparency in the public tendering process for development projects.
The resulting "climate of fear in the state industry bureaucracy", says Mr Ciszuk, has dissuaded the managers of KPC and it operating units from "taking ownership of initiatives and projects", compounding the standstill.
Can Mr al Zanki help break the deadlock, enabling Kuwait to start catching up with GCC neighbours that are far ahead in their oil development programmes, even as Iraq embarks on a raft of energy projects?
Mr Ciszuk sees a chance for this, as Kuwait's parliamentary squabbling has eased in the past year, but he remains sceptical. "With Kuwait's oil and gas project history for the last 15 years having been dominated by aborted attempts, confidence on all sides is low and no one is likely to celebrate until the first projects actually start to get under way," he says.
"Little real institutional or legal change has actually taken place and the political mood swings are likely to continue."
Some analysts, however, are more optimistic. Edmund O'Sullivan, the chairman of MEED, the Middle East-focused business intelligence group, says KPC's investment plan is part of a wider government push to develop $200bn of vital infrastructure projects in the next five years.
For Kuwait, he says, "there is now no choice".
"Without more power stations, water desalination capacity and sewage treatment plants, basic services will fail. … Daily life will, in due course, become almost impossible."
tcarlisle@thenational.ae
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Spain drain
CONVICTED
Lionel Messi Found guilty in 2016 of of using companies in Belize, Britain, Switzerland and Uruguay to avoid paying €4.1m in taxes on income earned from image rights. Sentenced to 21 months in jail and fined more than €2m. But prison sentence has since been replaced by another fine of €252,000.
Javier Mascherano Accepted one-year suspended sentence in January 2016 for tax fraud after found guilty of failing to pay €1.5m in taxes for 2011 and 2012. Unlike Messi he avoided trial by admitting to tax evasion.
Angel di Maria Argentina and Paris Saint-Germain star Angel di Maria was fined and given a 16-month prison sentence for tax fraud during his time at Real Madrid. But he is unlikely to go to prison as is normal in Spain for first offences for non-violent crimes carrying sentence of less than two years.
SUSPECTED
Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid's star striker, accused of evading €14.7m in taxes, appears in court on Monday. Portuguese star faces four charges of fraud through offshore companies.
Jose Mourinho Manchester United manager accused of evading €3.3m in tax in 2011 and 2012, during time in charge at Real Madrid. But Gestifute, which represents him, says he has already settled matter with Spanish tax authorities.
Samuel Eto'o In November 2016, Spanish prosecutors sought jail sentence of 10 years and fines totalling €18m for Cameroonian, accused of failing to pay €3.9m in taxes during time at Barcelona from 2004 to 2009.
Radamel Falcao Colombian striker Falcao suspected of failing to correctly declare €7.4m of income earned from image rights between 2012 and 2013 while at Atletico Madrid. He has since paid €8.2m to Spanish tax authorities, a sum that includes interest on the original amount.
Jorge Mendes Portuguese super-agent put under official investigation last month by Spanish court investigating alleged tax evasion by Falcao, a client of his. He defended himself, telling closed-door hearing he "never" advised players in tax matters.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Rafael Nadal's record at the MWTC
2009 Finalist
2010 Champion
Jan 2011 Champion
Dec 2011 Semi-finalist
Dec 2012 Did not play
Dec 2013 Semi-finalist
2015 Semi-finalist
Jan 2016 Champion
Dec 2016 Champion
2017 Did not play
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
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- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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THE%20HOLDOVERS
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
NO OTHER LAND
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Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
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THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The%20specs%3A%202024%20Mercedes%20E200
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%20four-cyl%20turbo%20%2B%20mild%20hybrid%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E204hp%20at%205%2C800rpm%20%2B23hp%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E320Nm%20at%201%2C800rpm%20%2B205Nm%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E9-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7.3L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENovember%2FDecember%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh205%2C000%20(estimate)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Raha%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Kuwait%2FSaudi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Tech%20Logistics%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2414%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Soor%20Capital%2C%20eWTP%20Arabia%20Capital%2C%20Aujan%20Enterprises%2C%20Nox%20Management%2C%20Cedar%20Mundi%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20166%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Dark Blue Winter Overcoat & Other Stories From the North
Edited and Introduced by Sjón and Ted Hodgkinson
Pushkin Press
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
RESULTS
1.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,400m
Winner: Dirilis Ertugrul, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Ismail Mohammed (trainer)
2.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,400m
Winner: Kidd Malibu, Sandro Paiva, Musabah Al Muhairi
2.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,000m
Winner: Raakezz, Tadhg O’Shea, Nicholas Bachalard
3.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,200m
Winner: Au Couer, Sean Kirrane, Satish Seemar
3.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m
Winner: Rayig, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
4.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,600m
Winner: Chiefdom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
4.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,800m
Winner: King’s Shadow, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
RESULT
RS Leipzig 3
Marcel Sabitzer 10', 21'
Emil Forsberg 87'
Tottenham 0
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
