Brief History of Kuwait Oil Company

Kuwait Oil Company was established in 1934 by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, which is known today as BP (British Petroleum), and Gulf Oil Corporation, now known as Chevron.

Since its inception, KOC’s activities have included exploration operations, onshore and offshore surveys, drilling of test wells and the development of producing wells in addition to crude and natural gas exploration.

By 1938, oil was found in commercial quantities at Burgan Field. In June of 1946, His Highness Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the late Amir of Kuwait, inaugurated the export of Kuwait’s first crude oil shipment.

Shortly after, new fields were developed and export facilities were expanded, resulting in the construction of the North and South Piers, the Sea Island, and the Single Point Mooring.

In 1975, the Kuwait Government took 100% control over Kuwait Oil Company, and by 1980, the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation was established to bring all state owned oil companies under one entity.

The Iraqi invasion of 1990 devastated KOC facilities. However, within months of Kuwait’s liberation in February of 1991, production gradually returned to full capacity.

Super light crude oil was discovered at the Sabriya Field in 2005. The discovery of the API 52 crude oil represented a great leap forward for the company’s exploration abilities.

In 2006, gas was discovered in the deep Jurassic reservoirs at Rahiya, Mutriba, Um Niga and other fields throughout Kuwait. These discoveries fulfilled a long-standing Kuwaiti dream of becoming self-sufficient in gas that can be used for power generation.

In 2011, KOC successfully achieved its goal of reducing gas flaring to approximately 1%. Compared to gas flaring levels of as high as 17% just a few years earlier, this represented a major accomplishment for KOC.
 
Today, KOC continues to live up to its stated mission of exploring, developing and producing Kuwait’s hydrocarbon resources for its customers around the world in a way that is environmentally sound and economically viable.