INDIA – KUWAIT COOPERATION IN ENERGY

Kuwait is a petroleum-based economy. It has estimated crude oil reserves of 101.5 billion barrels (about 6% of world reserves), and proven natural gas reserves of 1.784 billion cubic meters (about 63 trillion cubic feet), as per the latest OPEC data.

- SURBHI ARORA

Oil revenues constitute the main source of income and amount to approximately 94% of the state’s revenues. During 2020, Kuwait’s total exports were KD 19.57 billion (approximately US$ 62.6 billion) of which exports of oil and its by-products amounted to KD 10.96 billion (approximately US$ 36 billion) while non-oil exports were KD 1.3 billion (approximately US$ 4.3 billion). Kuwait’s total imports in 2020 were KD 8.4 billion (approximately US$ 28 billion).

According to IMF, Kuwait’s real GDP contracted by 8.1 percent, with an inflation rate of 2.1 percent in 2020. Kuwait has a Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) of over US$ 592 billion, which is managed by the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA). Kuwait offers an open, competitive, and affluent market for consumer goods and project exports.

Kuwait is the 4th largest amongst the GCC countries after the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. Kuwait embarked on its Development Plan (2015- 2020) under which it has awarded contracts worth over KD 1.1 billion (US$ 3.52 billion) in various sectors in 2019. Plans for project awards for 2020 were affected by the pandemic and falling oil prices, and Kuwait adopted a conservative approach to government spending during the year, with several projects put on hold. Project awards are expected to gather pace, with an estimated KD 4 billion worth of projects in the pipeline for 2021.