French oil and gas major TotalEnergies and Kuwait Oil Company (KPC) have signed a technical cooperation agreement for potential exploration activities in Kuwait.
Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will share their expertise and conduct technical studies related to new exploration in the country.
Total Energies will contribute its technical expertise for new exploration possibilities.
Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies, said: “We are pleased to strengthen our cooperation with Kuwait Oil Company through this MoU, which reflects our shared ambition to contribute to Kuwait’s objectives in developing its resources.
“The studies to be carried out will help inform future projects, while further deepening our long-term relationship with Kuwait.”
The move comes as the country moves to attract more foreign oil companies to develop its emerging offshore sector.
In a December statement, Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmed Abdullah al-Sabah said KPC’s mission was to optimise the value of Kuwait’s hydrocarbon resources.
“This is also why our strategy rests on plans to increase crude oil production to four million barrels per day by 2035 and achieve a stable free gas production of two billion standard cubic feet per day by 2040,” he said.
“We plan to invest approximately US$ 9-10 billion annually over the next five years in our domestic upstream sector, increasing current production capacity to 3.2 million barrels per day within that period.”
Kuwait has for over 80 years solely focused on onshore production, but in 2022 the country began its first major offshore oil and gas exploration, resulting in significant, rapid discoveries.
Sheikh Sabah said: “Over the past three years, simply by unlocking arcane contracting procedures that limited our surface processing capability, we have increased our production capacity by more than 20 per cent to more than three million barrels a day.”
Sheikh Sabah said that KPC is pursuing a plan to invite more foreign oil companies to help it develop the recently announced offshore oil and gas discoveries in Kuwait.
The Jazah discovery, which was announced in 2025, is estimated to hold one trillion cubic feet of gas. Another discovery, the al-Jlaiaa discovery, holds around 800 million barrels of medium sweet crude.
