Energy

Kuwait is one of the world's most significant players in the global energy market, largely due to its immense hydrocarbon reserves. The country holds approximately 6% of the world's total crude oil reserves and is a founding member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The entire energy sector is dominated by the state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and its subsidiaries, which oversee exploration, production, refining, and marketing.

Unlike countries struggling with domestic energy deficits, Kuwait's primary challenge has historically been managing global oil price volatility and diversifying its income away from crude oil. While the country is an extremely high consumer of energy per capita due to heavy reliance on air conditioning and subsidized electricity, it has maintained a surplus of production over consumption, allowing it to remain a major global exporter.

Kuwait has embarked on strategic goals under Vision 2035 to significantly boost its crude oil production capacity to 4 million barrels per day and increase the share of renewable energy in its domestic power mix to address rising internal demand and free up more oil for export. The country relies almost entirely on fossil fuels (natural gas and oil) for its electricity production, and water desalination, with renewable energy contributing only a marginal percentage to the total installed capacity.

Kuwait Energy in Numbers – 2023 Statistics

MetricKuwait Statistics (Approximate)
Electricity accessEssentially 100% (near universal access)
Production of Electricity83.6 billion kWh
Consumption of Electricity78.3 billion kWh
Electricity production from fossil fuels100% of total capacity (using natural gas and heavy fuel oil/crude)
Electricity production from other renewable sourcesLess than 1% of total installed capacity
Crude oil production2.69 million bbl. /day
Crude oil exports1.8 million bbl. /day
Crude oil proved reserves101.5 billion bbl.
Refined petroleum products production1.35 million bbl. /day
Refined petroleum products consumption315,000 bbl. /day
Natural gas production20.6 billion cubic meters
Natural gas consumption23.5 billion cubic meters
Natural gas imports2.9 billion cubic meters (via LNG terminals)
Natural gas proved reserves1.784 trillion cubic meters
Renewable Energy Target (Vision 2035)Target of 15% of power generation capacity from renewable sources by 2035