Minister of Oil and the Minister of Electricity and Water of Kuwait,HE Essam Abdul Mohsen Al-Marzouq interviews with The Business Year

19 January 2017

Leading global publisher The Business Year (TBY) recently met with HE Essam Abdul Mohsen Al-Marzouq, the newly appointed Minister of Oil and the Minister of Electricity and Water of Kuwait. The Minister spoke extensively about privatization plans in the electricity sector and elaborated on his intentions to move the Ministry of Electricity and Water away from being a producer in order to become more of a regulator. With the finalization of Kuwait’s first commercial power plant, Al-Zoor North I, which was developed under a public-private partnership model, the first steps have taken in this direction.

HE Al-Marzouq also commented on the recent deal among OPEC and non-OPEC members to cut oil production across the board. He emphasized this is not about pushing commodity prices up: “The oil price is a product of supply and demand and OPEC’s price-influencing mechanism is less powerful than a decade ago now that there are other important actors on the market,” he told TBY. “This dialogue is important for sustainable energy production across all markets.”

This week, the Minister attended the first meeting of the Tariff Committee to work on the implementation of tariffs for utilities and to build environmental awareness about the usage of water and electricity.

Essam Abdul Mohsen Al-Marzouq has extensive executive experience in the private sector, previously in the refinery, shipbuilding, and dredging industry. Prior to his ministerial appointment, he served as Chairman of Boursa Kuwait and on the board of the Kuwait Petroleum Company (KPC). HE Al-Marzouq expressed his commitment to bring his private sector experience into the ministries.

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TBY is currently in the last phase of developing its second edition on the country, The Business Year: Kuwait 2017. This year, the publication is compiled in close consultation with its local partner, the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA). This edition will go to print in 2Q2017 and will include some 150 interviews with high-level executives in the public and private sector.

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The Business Year (TBY) is a leading research firm and publisher of annual economic resources on national economies. Present in over 25 countries, TBY provides first-hand access to the people and ideas shaping business and policy throughout the world. Each country-specific edition contains a comprehensive range of interviews and analysis, offering an inside look at doing business in the world’s most dynamic economies. TBY’s interviewees, readers, and partners comprise an international network of thought-leaders who are helping to define the future of the global economy.

© Press Release 2017