Updates with force majeure notice
Kuwait's state-owned oil firm KPC has started to reduce crude output and refinery runs after oil exports were effectively halted by the war in the Middle East, the company said.
Tanker traffic through the strait — the main route for Mideast Gulf crude exports — has almost come to a standstill since the US and Israel began launching air strikes on Iran on 28 February. Tehran has responded by attacking other countries in the region, including targeting oil and gas infrastructure and shipping.
Opec member Kuwait, which produced 2.59mn b/d of crude in February according to Argus, is entirely dependent on Hormuz for its exports. A prolonged disruption would wipe out most of this output because of storage limitations.
KPC also issued a force majeure notice on its crude and refined products exports, according to a 7 March statement seen by Argus. Such notices protect companies from breach-of-contract penalties when they are unable to deliver to their customers due to events outside of their control.
Kuwait exported about 1.9mn b/d of crude and 860,000 b/d of refined products through the strait of Hormuz in 2025, according to Kpler.
KPC said the "precautionary" measures were a response to "ongoing aggression" by Iran against Kuwait and "threats against shipping through the strait of Hormuz." KPC said Kuwait's domestic market needs remained fully secured.
The company did not provide details on current output but said it was ready to restore production once conditions allow.
Kuwait is the second Mideast Gulf country after Iraq to confirm production shutdowns because of the war. Upstream shutdowns are also expected in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Iran should the war continue.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE have crude pipelines that can bypass the strait of Hormuz, but these outlets would only partially offset the loss of the waterway.
The war is also increasingly threatening the region's oil and gas upstream infrastructure.
Saudi Arabia said earlier on Saturday that its air defences intercepted 20 drones launched in five waves toward Saudi state-controlled Aramco's 1mn b/d Shaybah oil field in the Empty Quarter desert.
Saudi Arabia's 250,000 b/d offshore Berri field also suffered a "minor impact" following an attack, a source close to the matter said on Saturday. Qatar has already shut down its massive LNG production facilities after being attacked.
There appears to be no end in sight to the war, with US President Donald Trump on Saturday vowing to hit Iran "very hard" again and that additional targets were now under consideration.
