Kuwait Oil Co in Talks with US to Develop Shale Resources

Kuwait Oil Company is in talks with some U.S. firms including Devon Energy and EOG on potential cooperation to develop its shale oil and gas resources, its CEO said on Thursday.

KOC is "engaging with some U.S. operators to explore how their expertise can support the development of Kuwait’s shale oil and shale gas resources", Ahmad Al-Eidan said on the sidelines of the Kuwait Oil & Gas Show.

This would be the first time Kuwait has sought to develop its shale oil and shale gas resources, facilitated by significant technological advances and lower costs.

"We have invited several companies to participate and assist us in evaluating and advancing our unconventional oil and gas opportunities," Al-Eidan said.

He named Devon Energy and EOG as companies KOC was in contact with, but it was not immediately clear whether the discussions were limited to the two or involved other firms as well.

Kuwait's Prime Minister Ahmad Abdullah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah said at the same conference on Tuesday that Kuwait Petroleum Corporation will invite international companies to assist state-owned unit KOC to develop offshore oil and gas discoveries.

The country is pushing to lift its production capacity to 4 million bpd by 2035 from about 3 million bpd now, despite producing around 2.58 million bpd under its OPEC quota.

"At this stage, our immediate priority is to put the appropriate confidentiality framework in place. We are now in discussions to sign non-disclosure agreements with one or two companies," Al-Eidan said.

"Once those NDAs are signed, the companies will be able to review the relevant data, and we can move into more detailed technical and commercial discussions," he added.

(Reuters)