Kuwait Project Space To Be Boosted By Oil Sector – Doha Bank CEO

Kuwait’s oil sector is expected to boost the country’s projects in the coming year, according to a senior official.

Rahavan Seetharaman, group CEO of Doha Bank said the country’s “oil sector is expected to drive Kuwait’s project space in 2014,” at a knowledge sharing session in Kuwait.

The Gulf country’s economy is expected to grow by 2.6 per cent in 2014, with projected expenditures for the fiscal year 2014-15 reaching $77 billion – a growth of three per cent. The budget has assumed oil prices at $75 per barrel in the latest fiscal year.

According to IMF, Kuwait’s current economic outlook is positive and non-oil GDP growth is forecast to accelerate from 2.7 per cent in 2013 to 3.9 per cent this year, backed by government investment in infrastructure and large oil projects.

“Kuwait has projects worth more than $72.8 billion expected in 2014,” said Seetharaman.

In April 2014, the Kuwait National Petroleum Company signed contracts worth $12 billion with three international consortia to upgrade two refineries and invited bids to build a new multi-billion-dollar refinery. Kuwait also has plans to open a new refinery called Al Zour. The first phase of Zour North power station, is to be built by a venture led by GDF Suez, secured financing last year.