Kuwait shrinks oil budget by 25%

State-owned Kuwait Oil Company today announced a 25 per cent reduction in its budget for the next five years.

Local media quoted a company statement as saying that the decision was made “in response to directives from the Kuwaiti Council of Ministers,” adding that the move would not affect its “strategic objectives in the medium term”.

“The company has taken other actions to rationalise its operational budget for the fiscal year 2020-21 through reducing it by nearly 18 per cent to ensure the stability of state public finances,” the statement pointed out.

In June, the Kuwaiti cabinet ordered the country’s finance ministry to reduce its 2020-21 budgets by 20 per cent, following nationwide financial pressure due the coronavirus outbreak and a global drop in oil prices.

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