Kuwait adds a USD 992 mn contract to its crude export buffer

Kuwait wants more barrel space: Kuwait’s Central Agency for Public Tenders has approved a USD 992 mn contract to India’s engineering contractor Larsen & Toubro (L&T) to build new crude storage facilities and upgrade the country’s existing oil export network. The award follows a revised tender recommendation that selected L&T as the lowest bidder — ahead of Petrofac’s USD 1 bn (c. KWD 310.5 mn) offer.

What is being built? The project includes new storage facilities, upgrades to existing crude export infrastructure, and integration works that allow Kuwait to handle more than one crude stream across the export system.

Why this matters: Kuwait remains one of the most vulnerable Gulf exporters — especially during the Hormuz disruption — with roughly 1.9 mn bbl / d of crude and 860k bbl / d of refined products moving through the strait in 2025. The country’s main crude export outlet is Mina Al Ahmadi, with export terminals at Mina Abdullah, Mina Shuaiba, and Mina Saud, leaving the system exposed to Gulf shipping disruptions.

JPMorgan estimated the country had only around two weeks before storage constraints would face production cuts, while Kuwait Petroleum Corporation later declared force majeure and cut crude and refinery operations as exports backed up.

Part of a wider rebuild: The L&T award also lands after Kuwait secured around USD 1.5 bn in crude pipeline contracts earlier this year across South, East, North, and West Kuwait. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation has also been weighing a plan to lease 13 crude pipelines for 25 years to raise USD 5-7 bn for its wider USD 65 bn investment plan.