KUWAIT CITY: The chairman of Kuwait National Petroleum Co. (KNPC) Faruq Al-Zanki has been selected by the oil minister to lead the national oil company, Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPC), a top oil executive said Sunday.
"The decision of Zanki’s appointment as CEO of KPC is expected to be announced within a few days," the executive told AFP requesting anonymity.
Zanki will replace current chief executive officer Saad al-Shuwayeb who completes his three-year term later this month, and whom the government decided not to re-appoint.
The Kuwaiti cabinet is expected to confirm Zanki’s appointment soon, another source said.
The US-educated Zanki has been the head of KNPC, the KPC’s refining subsidiary, since 2007. Before that, he served as head of Kuwait Oil Co., KPC’s exploration and production arm, for several years.
KPC was established in the early 1980s to oversee the emirate’s oil industry at home and overseas. Along with its several subsidiaries it controls close to 100 billion barrels of crude reserves.
The fifth largest producer in the OPEC oil cartel, Kuwait currently pumps around 2.3 million barrels per day. Oil income accounts for about 94 percent of the country’s total revenues.
