KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait, which already sits on 10 per cent of global oil reserves, has finally entered the club of gas producers after unveiling the discovery for the first time of huge quantities of natural gas.

“We can say now that Kuwait has entered the world of natural gas,” Energy Minister Sheikh Ahmad Fahd al-Sabah told a press conference on Monday while announcing the discovery of reserves estimated at 35 trillion cubic feet (one trillion cubic meters) of non-associated gas.

“This is a qualitative leap for Kuwait which has now entered the scope of a new energy industry,” former Kuwaiti oil executive Kamel al-Harami said on Tuesday.

“This is a third stream of income for Kuwait after revenues from oil and return on foreign investments,” estimated at well over 100 billion dollars, Harami told AFP.

The main discovery was made at the fields of Um Niga-1 and Sabriya in northern Kuwait, with smaller quantities at two other fields in the same region.

Kuwait’s new gas find was of vital strategic importance to the country and will make it virtually independent from the deals it sought to enter with neigbouring countries like Iraq, Iran and Qatar for gas supply, said Sheikh Ahmad.

Saudi Arabia had recently blocked the construction of a pipeline across its territory through which Kuwait had wanted to import Qatari gas.

Kuwait has also signed provisional agreements with Iraq to import 200 million cubic feet (six million cubic meters) daily and with Iran for a daily supply of 300 million cubic feet (nine million cubic meters).

“The reserves we discovered make us do without imports,” said Sheikh Ahmad, adding there is great potential for larger reserves as exploration was still ongoing.

But he stressed Kuwait would still want to go ahead with the two deals after the agreement with Qatar has faltered.

Kuwait needs natural gas to operate its power generation and water desalination plants and its sprawling petrochemicals industry.

Production however will not start until late next year after completing the necessary surface and infrastructure facilities.

Sheikh Ahmad told reporters on Tuesday that a key report on the gas find will be ready by next November when it will be decided how to proceed further.—AFP