(Bloomberg) — Kuwait’s state energy company said OPEC+’s latest super-sized supply hike and recent interactions with customers suggest persistent demand growth beyond the summer driving season.
“We’re seeing some potential tightness in the market, which gives us an opportunity to capture market share in the future,” Sheikh Nawaf Al-Sabah, chief executive officer of Kuwait Petroleum Corp., told Bloomberg TV in an interview on the sidelines of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries seminar in Vienna.
Tanker tracking by Bloomberg shows that the Gulf state’s crude exports surged to a 19-month high in June as the OPEC+ alliance brought curbed barrels back. Most of Kuwait’s oil flows to Asian countries, including China, Japan and South Korea. Sheikh Nawaf said recent demand has been driven by Asia in particular, noting that KPC’s global business partners have been asking the company if it has additional barrels.
Bloomberg News hasn’t received accreditation to cover the OPEC seminar, despite multiple requests. No explanation has been given. Sheikh Nawaf spoke outside the event.
As tensions between Israel and Iran escalated last month into a war, KPC communicated closely with its Gulf partners to ensure a steady supply of oil to the market, according to Sheikh Nawaf. There had been concerns that the conflict could disrupt tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for exports from the Middle East.
“If you go back to the 1980s, there was the Iran-Iraq War, then the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, followed by continuous sanctions,” he said. The Middle East “has always been a region that faces security risks and a security premium. However, it’s very important to know that in over eight decades of oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, not a single day has that Strait been closed.”
