The chief of state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corp has refused to carry out the oil minister’s decision to swap the CEOs of two subsidiaries, risking a row in the sector, a newspaper reported Wednesday.
Nizar al-Adasani, chief executive officer of KPC, the Gulf state’s energy holding, said in a letter that the minister has no powers to make the decision.
On Tuesday, Oil Minister Ali al-Omair issued a decision swapping the posts of Hashem Hashem, CEO of Kuwait Oil Co, and Sheikh Nawaf Saud al-Sabah, CEO of Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co.
“The decision is beyond the scope of your authority,” Adasani told the minister in the letter, posted by Al-Rai newspaper on its website.
Such issues must be decided by the Supreme Petroleum Council and the KPC board of directors.
“As a result, your decision can not be implemented,” Adasani said.
There was no immediate reaction from the minister, who is abroad.
Kuwait is pumping around 2.8 million barrels per day and sits on around 7.0 percent of world reserves, according to latest data.
The sector generates more than 90 percent of public revenues.
afp
