Power cuts halt Kuwaiti oil production

Following a nationwide power cut on 31 October, production at three of Kuwait’s three oil refineries – Al-Ahmadi, Mina Abdullah and Shuaiba – came to a complete halt. The three facilities have a combined output capacity of 920,000 bpd and account for 40% of the country’s annual output.

According to Kuwait Petroleum Corp CEO Hani Hussein, “Power to the refineries was restored late on Sunday and the refineries are on course for resuming normal operation.”

“Production and export of crude oil from Kuwait are proceeding as normal,” added the official without elaborating further.

Keen perhaps to assure a both domestic and an edgy international market, Kuwait’s energy minister Sheikh Ahmad Fahd al-Sabah has gone on record saying, “Kuwait’s oil production remained at its normal levels and was not affected by the power blackout.”

Sheikh Ahmad did not expand on the fact but one thing the Kuwaiti government wished to stress was the blackout was not a terror attack. According to a Major Waleed al-Ghanim, “The blackout was the result of a technical breakdown and it has nothing to do with sabotage.”

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