Kuwait Energy Outlook

The Kuwait Energy Outlook analyzes the country's heavy reliance on oil and gas for power and desalination, projecting energy demand and supply to 2035. Under a Business-as-Usual scenario, the report finds that while Kuwait plans to increase natural gas and renewable energy in its power mix, per capita emissions and energy demand remain among the highest globally. The report highlights critical challenges in the transport sector, where unchecked growth in oil demand is projected, and in the buildings sector, where energy inefficiency persists. It recommends the establishment of a 'National Champion' to coordinate energy strategy, the implementation of pricing reforms to reduce subsidies, and the improvement of national energy data collection.

• Kuwait's economy is highly dependent on the oil sector, which accounts for approximately 90% of export revenues and net oil-export revenues represent about 40% of GDP.
• In the Business-as-Usual Case, crude oil production is projected to reach 3.5 million barrels per day by 2035, while natural gas production is expected to grow from 17.4 billion cubic meters in 2017 to 27.3 bcm in 2035.
• Total primary energy demand is projected to increase by a third by 2035, with the share of oil declining to 42% and natural gas increasing to 55% due to fuel-switching in power generation.
• Renewable energy currently satisfies less than 1% of energy demand; while capacity is expected to reach 5 GW by 2035 (making up 16% of total generation capacity), its share in total primary energy demand will remain low at 3%.
• Electricity generation capacity is projected to increase by 70% from 2018 levels to reach 32 GW by 2035, with combined-cycle plants forming the majority of expansions.
• Kuwait relies on desalination for about 90% of its water consumption. Multi-stage flash (MSF) technology currently dominates but is expected to fall to 39% by 2035, while multi-effect desalination (MED) is projected to account for nearly half of production.
• The transport sector is a major source of inefficiency, with oil demand projected to grow by 3% per year. This sector is expected to account for nearly a third of total final energy consumption by 2035 and drive all increases in greenhouse-gas emissions from oil products.
• Residential electricity demand is heavily driven by air-conditioning, which accounts for approximately 70% of residential electricity demand.
• Greenhouse-gas emissions are projected to rise from 83 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent in 2015 to 103.4 Mt by 2035, with per capita emissions remaining among the highest in the world at approximately 20 tonnes by 2035.
• Energy subsidies are high, estimated at close to 8% of GDP in 2016, which encourages wasteful consumption and discourages efficiency investments.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (n.d.). Kuwait Energy Outlook. https://leap.sei.org/documents/keo2019/KEO_report_English.pdf

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Kuwait Energy Outlook. n.d. https://leap.sei.org/documents/keo2019/KEO_report_English.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Kuwait Energy Outlook |url=https://leap.sei.org/documents/keo2019/KEO_report_English.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitutendkuwait, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Kuwait Energy Outlook}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, url = {https://leap.sei.org/documents/keo2019/KEO_report_English.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }