KUWAIT CITY – The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) CEO Faruk Al-Zanki said, on Monday, that unrest in the Mideast and North Africa has lifted oil prices by around 20 percent.
Zanki said on the sidelines of an oil and gas summit that oil prices would hike further if the turmoil covers all over Middle East – that houses several of the world’s main oil exporters. Earthquake in Japan also helped lift prices, said Zanki, who opened the two day summit with Venezuelan former Energy Minister Alirio Parra.
The annual summit would tackle diversification, development and growth in the oil industry. Kuwait, the fourth largest exporter of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), sits atop around 10 percent of the world’s proven oil reserves and pumps around 2.3 million barrels under OPEC’s quota.