Kuwait’s state oil company picks adviser to merge units

Kuwait’s state oil company picks adviser to merge units

Kuwait Petroleum is hiring a consultant to help merge its subsidiaries as the state-run company slashes capital spending by more than 25 per cent over the next five years.

KPC will combine its eight business units into four to streamline operations, according to a person familiar with the matter. To make the change as smooth as possible, it plans to sign with a consultant next month, the person said, asking not to be identified because they haven't finalised the contract.

To chop five-year capital spending to KD19.8bn ($65bn), KPC cancelled some projects and postponed others, including exploration. It also pushed back some expected acquisitions by a subsidiary, Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration, the person said. Kuwait's Supreme Petroleum Council, which oversees the OPEC member's oil industry, has approved the