KUWAIT CITY, March 16: According to reliable oil sources, the Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has requested the supply of 44 drilling rigs from specialized international companies for a period of five years, reports Al-Anba daily. They explained that KOC had last week proposed two internal tenders to request drilling rigs. The company proposed the first tender for the supply of 24 drilling rigs of 1,500 and 2,000 horsepower. The second tender was proposed to order 20 small drilling rigs of 750 horsepower for drilling oil wells and shallow water.

KOC has set May 30 as the last date for the submission of bids from specific companies pre-qualified to participate. A preliminary meeting will be held on March 16 to respond to the contractors’ inquiries, given that March 21 will be the last date to respond to inquiries. The sources revealed that the demand for drilling rigs coincides with the directions of KOC to increase the production of crude oil and gas during the coming period, in preparation for the gradual increase of sustainable production capacity of crude oil to 3.2 million barrels per day in 2025, and then to 3.55 million barrels of oil per day, taking into account the production from the area divided between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.