Kuwait resumes oil production, exports

KUWAIT CITY (Scrap Monster): Kuwait has resumed its oil production and exports after the emergency shutdown of industries on Friday due to massive sandstorm hit the region.

Kuwait Petroleum Corp subsidiary Kuwait Oil Co resumed its production operations and exports on Saturday. Oil industry seaport operations also began receiving tanker traffic. 

KPC subsidiary and state refiner Kuwait National Petroleum Co also resumed major pre-scheduled maintenance operations at two of its refineries.

Plans for supplying consumers with crude or oil products, domestic and international, were not affected by the shutdown.

A thick sandstorm blanketed the emirate Friday evening, accompanied by heavy winds out of the northwest. Visibility was reduced to 20 feet in some areas during the early evening.

Kuwait's international airport halted all incoming and outbound flights temporarily, and commercial seaports were closed until visibility returned. Kuwait currently produces around 2.3 million b/d of crude and has a capacity output of around 3 million b/d, Platts.com reported.