Saudi Arabia and Kuwait resumed production at the joint Wafra and Khafji oil field in the Neutral Zone between the two countries on 1 July. The production also comes as both countries’ additional OPEC+ cuts ended in June.
The Kuwait Oil Ministry said on Twitter the production in the Khafji joint field began again after a month-long hiatus based on the operational plans between the two parties. The restart was also in line with plans announced in June by Saudi Arabia Chevron, which jointly operates the Wafra field with Kuwait Gulf Oil Co.
Both countries agreed in December 2019 to begin production at the oil fields after being offline since 2015 because of an operational dispute. Startup operations and production began in February, before both countries agreed to halt oil production on 1 June as they volunteered further production cuts on top of an OPEC+ agreement.
Media reports indicate the onshore Wafra field will reach 70,000 B/D by the end of August and eventually reach 145,000 B/D by year end.
Production from the offshore Khafji oil field is expected to be at 80,000 B/D from 1 July before reaching 100,000 B/D after 2 months. The field is expected reach 175,000 B/D by year end.