KPC launches major Kuwaitization drive

25/09/2025

KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25: As part of the ongoing and upcoming projects of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) to boost the nation’s oil production capacity to four million barrels per day by 2035 and sustain it until 2040, along with the current operations at the Durra field and continued offshore and onshore exploration, most recently at the Matarba field, sources from the oil sector revealed that KPC has directed its subsidiaries to significantly increase Kuwaitization rates.

Simultaneously, contracting companies working on oil sector projects have been instructed to fully enforce provisions that protect the rights of Kuwaiti employees in the private oil sector. The sources confirmed that 2026 will mark the start of a major recruitment drive for newly graduated Kuwaitis in the oil sector.

They explained that a high-level meeting resulted in KPC agreeing to form a committee of senior leaders, chaired by CEO Sheikh Nawaf Al-Saud Al-Sabah and Managing Director for Human Resources and Comprehensive Services Hisham Al-Rifai. They met with a delegation from the Petroleum Workers Union, led by Union President Saud Al-Mutairi and Executive Council Chairman Abbas Awad. The meeting focused on important issues such as increasing hiring rates to accommodate diploma holders and engineers who have passed exams in the oil sector, and developing appropriate solutions to implement the new promotion system for phased grades for oil companies.

A request was also discussed to expedite the commencement of status adjustment tests for eligible employees and to follow up on the transfer of gas plant workers at the Kuwait Oil Tankers Company (KOTC). KPC’s CEO Sheikh Nawaf Al-Saud Al-Sabah expressed his full readiness, cooperation, and support for these demands. As part of revitalizing KPC and its subsidiaries, and in line with its policy to increase national cadres in all specializations, KPC recently announced job openings for Kuwaitis holding a Bachelor’s degree in Law, specializing in the Anglo-Saxon legal system.

According to the advertisement requirements, applicants must submit their civil ID and their nationality certificate obtained from the Sahel application. They are required to have a minimum general graduation GPA of 2.67 on a 4-point scale, or 80 percent on the percentage scale, or a second-class level as per the verbal evaluation scale approved by the Ministry of Higher Education, equivalent to a “Very Good” rating, based on lists issued by the ministry up to September 18, 2025.

By Najeh Bilal Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff