Kuwait has been forced to, hopefully only temporarily, reduce its oil output due a rare outbreak of industrial action by the public sector, revealing a backlash to fiscal reform measures triggered by low oil prices. Kuwait Oil Company is having to reduce its production to 1.1m barrels a day from its regular output of 3m barrels a day. Though the Government has dismissed the impact, stating it has at least 25 days' worth of stockpiles of petroleum by-products, it does highlight the growing resentment in the the Persian Gulf as cash-strapped nations try to rebalance their oil-dependent economies. To balance its budget, Kuwait needs the oil price to be $50 a barrel. This strike comes as OPEC failed to reach an agreement in Doha over freezing crude output, which caused oil prices to plunge today.
Kuwait has been forced to, hopefully only temporarily, reduce its oil output due a rare outbreak of industrial action by the public sector, revealing a backlash to fiscal reform measures triggered by low oil prices. Kuwait Oil Company is having to reduce its production to 1.1m barrels a day from its regular output of 3m barrels a day. Though the Government has dismissed the impact, stating it has at least 25 days' worth of stockpiles of petroleum by-products, it does highlight the growing resentment in the Gulf as cash-strapped nations try to rebalance their oil-dependent economies. To balance its budget, Kuwait needs the oil price to be $50 a barrel. This strike comes as OPEC failed to reach an agreement in Doha over freezing crude output, which caused oil prices to plunge today.