Kuwait’s national oil company Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) has cancelled its tender for a consultant to study financing options for the country’s state-owned oil and gas companies.A statement published by KPC’s Higher Purchase Committee said that the companies that purchased tender documents are eligible for a refund.The invitation to bid on the tender was issued on 18 December 2022.KPC did not give a reason for the cancellation of the tender.Kuwait has been looking to increase efficiency and restructure its state-owned oil and gas companies for several years.In 2020, a contract for a study to look into the restructuring was won by UK-based Strategy&, a subsidiary of the financial services company PwC.The plan was expected to cut costs and merge many of the state-controlled companies in the country’s oil, gas and petrochemicals sectors.At the time, KPC said that the mergers would slash the number of large state-controlled companies in the sector from eight to four.In 2020, local reports said the Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC) and KPC had already approved plans to restructure the oil sector.It is thought that the restructuring could have significant benefits for KPC in the long term.A similar restructuring by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) helped to open the door for increased foreign investment in the UAE’s energy sector.After a sweeping restructuring, in December 2017 Adnoc listed 10 per cent of Adnoc Distribution, the largest operator of retail fuel service stations and convenience stores in the UAE. This raised $851m, making it the largest initial public offering in Abu Dhabi in a decade.In May 2022, KPC said it was considering selling shares in its downstream subsidiary Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC), with the Higher Purchase Committee tendering a contract for a feasibility study regarding the potential “partial divestment of shares in KNPC”.At the time, the announcement about the potential share sale from the Higher Purchase Committee surprised many within Kuwait’s oil and gas sector.Despite Kuwait publicly discussing restructuring its oil and gas sector for several years, very little concrete progress has been made towards making the planned mergers. (ICE KUWAIT)

Fonte notizia: MEED