Kuwait plans to sell stakes in four oil units

Bloomberg

Kuwait is taking steps to sell minority stakes in as many as four units of the state oil producer as the Middle Eastern government plans to tap global capital markets for funds and improve efficiency in its most important industry.
The government has a four-year plan to organize and execute sales of shares in the international units and the shipping and chemical arms of Kuwait Petroleum Corp., Anas Al-Saleh, acting oil minister, said in a phone interview. KPC, responsible for the country’s 3 million barrels of daily crude output, won’t be part of the sale, he said.
Middle Eastern oil producers are seeking to diversify their economies and develop new sources of revenue after a supply glut triggered a plunge in crude to a fraction of its 2014 average of close to $100 a barrel. Saudi Arabia, the biggest producer in OPEC, plans to sell as much
as 5 percent of the kingdom’s state producer Saudi Arabian Oil Co. by 2018. Like Saudi Arabia, neighboring Kuwait is
planning an economic overhaul that would involve cutting subsidies and selling some state assets.
“We are looking into privatization,”
Al-Saleh said. Kuwait is planning “definitely soon” to sell stakes of 20 percent to 30 percent in as many as four state oil units, he said.
The government, which would keep majority control of the energy companies once it listed their shares, is preparing for the initial public offerings even as it studies in greater detail which businesses to sell and when, Al-Saleh said. He declined to specify dates for the IPOs or estimate how much money they would generate for the government, other than to say, “definitely we would not touch anything if it wasn’t worthwhile.’’
Kuwait Petroleum International, which owns refineries in Asia and the Q8 chain of filling stations in Europe, is among the candidates for sale. The others are Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co., Kuwait Oil Tanker Co. and Petrochemical Industries Co., said Al-Saleh, who is also the country’s finance minister.