Kuwait will never disclose oil reserves
Published Date: May 02, 2007
KUWAIT: Kuwait will never disclose the size of its oil reserves for reasons of national security, Oil Minister Sheikh Ali Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah was quoted as saying after the state announced a new oil find. "Kuwait has not and will not disclose the size of its oil reserves," he told Al-Arabiya Television late on Monday. "The Kuwait people are not concerned with numbers. This is related to national security." Industry newsletter Petroleum Intelligence Weekly (PIW) said in January 2006 it had seen internal Kuwaiti records showing reserves were about 48 billion barrels - half the officially stated 99 billion, or some 10 percent of global oil reserves.
Kuwait's former oil minister, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahd Al-Sabah, has said that PIW's report only paints a partial picture while other oil officials said the report was inaccurate. PIW said official public figures do not distinguish between proven, probable and possible reserves. Sheikh Ali told Arabiya that just because some fields were not proven it did not mean there was no oil there but that they were not being used. "All Kuwaiti lands are reserves and every day there are new discoveries that are not announced but that doesn't mean Kuwait does not know the size of its reserves," the minister said.
"The one to announce the size of Kuwait's reserves are independent parties like OPEC," he said, adding that "private companies like BP make announcements because they are listed and so this information affects their stock price." Sheikh Ali said on Monday Kuwait had made an "important" light oil and gas find in the Al-Dhabi region in the north but did not give the size of the field. - Reuters
Does anyone else think this is a bit odd? Why is Kuwait unwilling to declare in a transparent manner what its oil reserves are? What do you have to hide Sheikh Ali? Is PIW getting a bit too close to the truth? Is this common practice for regimes propped up by oil revenues?
Eventually the oil will run out and what for Kuwait then? ...it's just a matter of time. Will it be 50 years, 100 years, or 200 years? On a spectrum of the early demise to a late demise of the State of Kuwait, I envisage a scenario nearer the early end of the spectrum, not necessarily because the oil will run out, but more as a result of the global awareness of climate change and the momentum for doing something about it and seeking alternative fuels / energy sources. Of course this is being very optimistic – maybe they’ll be enough demand from regimes who don’t give a damn about the environment, to continue to prop-up the fossil-fuel producers.
When the shift away from oil eventually comes, where is the money going to come from to sustain the Kuwait lifestyle? Look what happened to Nauru.
When the times are good, be proactive. This is the time to invest wisely for future generations and diversify the economy. Not build up a great slush fund to continue a cradle to grave welfare system.
Enough ranting for now. Back to the day job.
3 comments:
Why would it be the demise of Kuwait? Kuwait has been exporting oil for about a half century, yet it has survived for 3 centuries.
Demise - because Kuwait doesn't produce or export anything else, it doesn't have any industry or services, there is no tourism industry, need I say more... Moreover, it doesn't seem to care enough to do anything about it. In the past it had pearls.
I'd like to be proved wrong. I'd like Kuwait and Kuwaitis to invest their wealth wisely - reform their education system, reform their legal system, eliminate wasta & corruption, promote good governance, eliminate cartels, encourage private enterprise and small businesses, discourage tribal politics and the harking back to the 'good old days' of the time of the Prophet...
The Kuwait Times writer, Muna Al-Fuzai picks up on the same theme ...
Survival without oil
Published Date: May 05, 2007
By Muna Al-Fuzai
For many years Kuwait, as well as the rest of the Gulf countries, were known as the oil countries of the world. There wasn't any other source to identify our countries without mentioning the word oil. Of course, other neighboring countries had realized this fact and made some efforts to create new means of living in case the West did not need oil any more.
Here in Kuwait, we still think of oil as an eternal source of wealth. Nowadays, the West is getting fed up with being continuously desperate for Arabian oil and are now thinking of new energy sources like the sun, the wind and other energy alternatives which can save money.
This sends a grand message that the West can survive without our oil, but can we survive without oil money and all the luxuries that come with it? How can we manage to live without oil and how will others treat us when that time comes?
Nowadays, the West had announced that they are making some efforts and strategic studies to develop new ways of surviving without our oil. That of course is good news for them but what about us and how will life for us be when this happens?
Oil brought change to Kuwait, not only in people's lifestyles but also in the way people think and act and on people's attitudes. Oil helped Kuwaitis receive several items with little effort and the Kuwaiti government was supportive in helping Kuwaitis enjoy the wealth of oil. But have we wisely invested the wealth we have had for many years? The answer is simply no, we have not.
It is a scary thought for many for sure, but it is a real thought and not impossible or imaginary. Investing would make a lot of sense yet because of our carelessness and laziness, such ideas have now become unacceptable.
We hate to confront what we can't bear, but we must confront the fact that no more oil means no more money, no more oil means no more cash and large bank accounts to make our dreams come true. It means no more fancy cars and that a luxurious life will become a dream, except for a few.
The majority of Kuwaitis would receive a deadly blow, especially those with no college degrees or professional experience. What job opportunities could they get? Very few, and the possibility of needing to work abroad may become possible.
What about human investment? Have we made any efforts in this regard to upgrade peoples mind and to accept new perspective and ethics with more respect, such as the idea of working as a cleaner, porter, driver, or accepting other blue-collar jobs. Can we bear the idea of taking other roles because we don't have anything to differentiate ourselves from others?
Those who are respected because of the power they had over other people's lives and gained peoples respect out of fear rather than love should worry about how they will be treated in case they took the place of others. They would be forced to confront life without the privileges of oil money.
All other Gulf countries are trying to make their own name and mark in the world except Kuwait. Ways to attract foreign money to their counties were various, some were based on entertainment and fun sports while others were based on financial and industrial facilities, which they used in making multiple sources of investments and income in order to survive without oil or depend less on oil.
I believe that Kuwaitis were blessed to have oil, but we did not take the advantage of investing the oil wealth and now this talk about the possibility that the West doesn't need us any more is frightening for us. But still, many Kuwaitis would still prefer to deny and ignore such ideas that they can survive without oil.
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