PROJECTS: Kuwait boosts oil spending by 50 percent in 2022-2023

OPEC member Kuwait expects to boost spending on oil projects and other activities by nearly 50 percent in fiscal year 2022-2023 following a sharp increase in crude prices, a Kuwaiti newspaper reported on Tuesday.

 

The Gulf emirate expects the price rise to push up its oil and gas export earnings by around 49 percent in the next fiscal year starting on April 1, the Arabic language daily Alanba said, citing a report by the state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC).

 

According to the report, revenues from crude, gas and refined products are expected to surge to nearly 23.93 billion Iraqi dinars ($78.9 billion) during 2022-2023 from around 15.99 billion dinars ($52.7 billion) in the current fiscal year 2021-2022.

 

KPC, which controls the Gulf state's hydrocarbon sector, expects spending on projects and other activities to leap by nearly 50 percent to 23.1 billion dinars ($76.23 billion) from 15.44 billion dinars ($50.9 billion) in the same period, the report said.

 

The report did not give expenditure breakdown but it noted that the sharp rise is in contrast with austerity measures announced by KPC in the previous year due to the spread of Coronavirus.

 

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)