Carole Nakhle
{
"authors": [
"Carole Nakhle"
],
"type": "legacyinthemedia",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "menaTransitions",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center",
"programAffiliation": "MEP",
"programs": [
"Middle East"
],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"Gulf",
"Middle East"
],
"topics": [
"Economy"
]
}Source: Getty
The Future of the Kuwaiti Economy
Kuwait is one of the richest countries in the world, but due to its lack of economic diversification, any potential decline in the oil price could cause serious problems to its economy.
Source: VoiceAmerica
Even though Kuwait is producing an average of 2.8 to three million barrels a day, Nakhle said that the situation is also worrisome: “You have eighty percent of government revenue coming from the oil sector. So, there are no other sectors in the economy to compensate for any potential decline in oil price. That would be a key concern for the sustainability of the Kuwaiti economy.”
Discussing foreign investment, Nakhle said that Project Kuwait, a project put in place in the mid-1990s that required oil companies to be involved in the upstream sector without really owning the production had been “nearly forgotten,” because the Kuwaitis “didn’t want the foreign investors—not even to have control over operational management.”
Nakhle added that if there is a potential deal in Iran, it would be interesting to find out “what kind of agreements or contracts Iran would offer to investors and whether Kuwait would learn from what its neighbor will be doing.”
This interview was broadcasted on VoiceAmerica’s “Emerging and Frontier Markets Investing.”
About the Author
Former Nonresident Scholar, Middle East Center
Nakhle was a nonresident scholar at Carnegie Middle East Center, specializing in international petroleum contracts and fiscal regimes for the oil and gas industry, world oil and gas market developments, energy policy, and oil and gas revenue management.
- Nuclear Energy’s Future in the Middle East and North AfricaArticle
- ISIL Sells Its Oil, But Who Is Buying It?In The Media
Carole Nakhle
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center
- Once Neutral on the Ukraine War, Arab States Increasingly Favor MoscowCommentary
Disillusioned with the West over Gaza, Arab countries are not only trading more with Russia; they are also more willing to criticize Kyiv.
Ruslan Suleymanov
- Does Russia Have Enough Soldiers to Keep Waging War Against Ukraine?Commentary
The Russian army is not currently struggling to recruit new contract soldiers, though the number of people willing to go to war for money is dwindling.
Dmitry Kuznets
- Baku Proceeds With Caution as Ethnic Azeris Join Protests in Neighboring IranCommentary
Baku may allow radical nationalists to publicly discuss “reunification” with Azeri Iranians, but the president and key officials prefer not to comment publicly on the protests in Iran.
Bashir Kitachaev
- What Russia Will—and Won’t—Do for Its Embattled Ally IranCommentary
It’s one thing to export Russian helicopters to Iran to fight the insurgency, and it’s easy to imagine Moscow becoming a haven for fleeing Iranian leaders. But it’s very difficult to imagine Russian troops defending the Iranian regime on the ground.
Nikita Smagin
- Including Russia on the EU Financial Blacklist Will Hurt Ordinary People, Not the KremlinCommentary
The paradox of the European Commission’s decision is that the main victims will not be those it formally targets. Major Russian businesses associated with the Putin regime have long adapted to sanctions with the help of complex schemes involving third countries, offshore companies, and nonpublic entities.
Alexandra Prokopenko