Saudis, Kuwait Near End to Spat Over Shared Oil Fields -- Update
December 22 2019 - 2:11PM
Dow Jones News
By Benoit Faucon and Summer Said
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are this week set to end a five-year
dispute over oil fields in a territory shared between the two
countries, people familiar with the matter said Sunday, paving the
way for the return of half a million barrels a day of output.
The move would be a success for new Saudi energy minister
Abdulaziz bin Salman, who has spent years trying to resolve
differences over land and environmental rights in what is known as
the neutral zone, the contested strip of oil-rich land between the
two countries.
The fields, which normally produce about 500,000 barrels of
crude oil a day, were shut down in late 2014 because of disputes
over land-use and environmental permits.
The deal could still fall through at the last minute and the two
countries, which reached a preliminary agreement in October, are
unlikely to restart production immediately, the people familiar
with the matter said.
The return would be gradual and would be offset by output
reductions in other oil fields to comply with cuts agreed upon with
other producers, they said.
In early December, Prince Abdulaziz headed a pact with the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its
Russia-led allies to deepen production cuts to 1.7 million barrels
a day.
The negotiations to reopen the neutral zone have been backed by
the U.S., which wants to ensure abundant quantities of oil remain
available to make up for sanctioned Iranian and Venezuelan oil.
U.S. oil company Chevron Corp., which operates an onshore field
in the neutral zone, said it continues to monitor the situation.
"Saudi Arabian Chevron remains committed to the region and is
focused on supporting operational activities to maintain readiness
for a production restart when the time comes," Chevron said.
Write to Benoit Faucon at benoit.faucon@wsj.com and Summer Said
at summer.said@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 22, 2019 13:56 ET (18:56 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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