KUWAIT, Feb 17 (KUNA) -- The state-owned Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has inked a five-year service contract with Shell to develop northern gas fields, the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said on Wednesday.
Under the agreement, Shell will provide the technical know-how and advanced technology to develop the fields of free or non-associated gas in northern Kuwait, the KPC's official, Sheikh Talal Al-Khalid Al-Sabah told KUNA.
The world oil and gas exploration and development company will also provide the Kuwaiti company's personnel with training courses in order to be able to deal with such gas fields, he said.
The development of northern gas fields requires high technology and specialized technicians and that's why the company has hammered out the contract with Shell, he pointed out.
Free gas development is a vital and strategic project on which the company counts to fulfill a large part of the country's clean energy needs given that gas is to be used in power plants and oil and petrochemical industries, he added.
By clinching the contract, the Kuwait Oil Company seeks to boost free gas production capacity from 140 million cubic feet at present up to one billion cubic feet by 2015 and 2016, he said. - Kuna