Petroleum council meets as Kuwait monitors oil market risks
Officials review strategic projects amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty in the Gulf
KUWAIT: His Highness Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Prime Minister of Kuwait, chaired the first meeting of the Supreme Petroleum Council for 2025 on Tuesday at Bayan Palace. The meeting comes at a critical moment, with ongoing military strikes between the Zionist entity and Iran pushing threatening oil shipping routes and pushing prices into volatile territory. Council members reviewed key items on the agenda, including major projects approved by Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and its subsidiaries, as well as strategic plans aligned with Kuwait's energy goals. The council also examined regional and international political developments and their implications for the oil market.
No immediate disruptions
Despite growing fears over a broader regional war, oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz — the primary route for Kuwait's crude exports — remain stable, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Ship-tracking data from analytics firm Kpler and the Financial Times confirm that tanker traffic continues uninterrupted, and there have been no efforts to block exports from Kuwait or its regional neighbors. Experts have said that any closure of the strait could restrict trade and impact global oil prices. About a fifth of the world's total oil consumption passes through the strait. Between the start of 2022 and last month, roughly 17.8 million to 20.8 million barrels of crude, condensate and fuels flowed through the strait daily, according to data from Vortexa. OPEC members Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq export most of their crude via the strait, mainly to Asia.
Electronic interference
At present, Kuwait has not announced any changes to production levels, rerouting plans, or adjustments to insurance policies for its oil shipments. Still, electronic interference affecting commercial navigation systems around the Strait and the wider Arabian Gulf has intensified in recent days, according to naval authorities. 'JMIC continue to receive reports of electronic interference stemming from the vicinity of Port of Bandar Abbas (in Iran), in the SoH and several other areas in the Arabian Gulf,' the US-led Combined Maritime Force's information center said in an advisory. 'This disruption is affecting vessels' ability to accurately transmit positional data via automated identification systems (AIS), posing operational and navigational challenges.'
Prices stable for now
Oil prices surged last week as Zionist airstrikes on Iran raised fears of supply disruption, especially through the critical Hormuz chokepoint. However, on Tuesday, Brent crude fell 1.52 percent to $75.31 per barrel after US President Donald Trump suggested Iran was seeking to negotiate — a remark that briefly calmed markets. 'In light of military escalation, oil prices have risen nearly eight percent since the conflict began, and are expected to continue climbing as hostilities intensify,' said Khaled Boudai, head of Ofoq Consulting, in comments to the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) earlier this week. He added that prices could exceed $100, but said that without physical damage to infrastructure, which lead to sustained supply disruptions, such spikes are usually short-lived. — Agencies
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