KUWAIT: Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) said in a statement that the new crude field was discovered in Al-Jathatheel in western Kuwait, "forecast to be substantial add to the State's output productivity and reserves of light oil and gas." The KOC Chief Executive Officer Jamal Abdelaziz Jaafar said that preliminary scans of the underground strata determined that the field is of highly economic feasibility.

KOC teams are currently conducting main tests at the location to the northwest of Al-Manaqeesf field, predicting that the volumes of extracted crude oil and gas would double after finishing the tests. The new discovery is forecast to "enrich the Kuwaiti oil reserves and enable the country pursue the crude oil production for decades to come," he said. The company is steadily moving ahead toward accomplishing objectives of its 2030 strategy, intended to bolster Kuwait's international status as a major crude producer, in addition to securing and supporting domestic supplies of by-products.

Oil prices fluctuations

Meanwhile, GCC States have been urged to adopt new economic policies, including diversifying income sources, to face the recent instability in global economy due to the strong fluctuations of oil prices, a Kuwaiti researcher said. GCC countries must develop monthly economic indicators for decision makers in state and private sectors, and independent companies, Sulayman Al-Qudsi, a researcher at Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), confirmed.

Al-Qudsi made his remarks while discussing his research paper he has submitted to the 15th International Conference of Middle East Economic Association (MEEA), which kicked off earlier in the Qatari capital. He also stressed the importance of watching and monitoring every single moment of indicators around the world, particularly in the United States, Canada, Europe, China, and India.

Increasing the income via increasing productivity is essential for Gulf countries instead of depending on just investment and labor as income increasing sources, the Kuwaiti researcher said, noting that developing and improving national cadres, in addition to using skillful and distinctive labor, is also important. The three-day international event, themed "The Impact of Oil Price Changes on the Economic Growth and Development in the MENA Countries," is hosted by Doha Institute for Graduate Studies (DIGS). - Agencies