Kuwait's crude oil production rose sharply to 1.65mn barrels per day in June from 580,000 bpd in May, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday, as the Opec member boosts exports through the Gulf following the US-Iran interim peace agreement.
The jump in Kuwaiti output adds to signs that Gulf oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz are recovering rapidly following disruption caused by the Iran war, with stranded cargoes gradually clearing the Strait of Hormuz and exporters restoring production.
Kuwait was producing about 2.5mn bpd before Iran's effective closure of the Strait in response to US and Israeli attacks at the end of February which prompted the country and other Gulf producers like Saudi Arabia and Iraq to cut millions of barrels per day of oil output.
Daily production rose to as high as 1.9mn bpd in the last 10 days of June, the source, who declined to be identified by name, added. Oil prices extended earlier losses on Thursday following the Reuters report. Crude had already been trading at its lowest level since late February, just before the war began.
A spokesperson for state oil company Kuwait Petroleum Corp did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment. The company on June 18 said that all force majeure notices issued during the war were lifted, while a tender document a day later showed the company was offering cargoes to buyers.
Kuwait was one of the hardest-hit countries in the Gulf from the Iran war because of the effective halt to flows through the Strait. Unlike Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which can use export routes other than the Strait of Hormuz, Kuwait relies almost entirely on the waterway for its crude exports, leaving it effectively cut off from key markets such as Asia during the disruption.