Kuwait Petroleum to Spend $38 Million Improving Management Competency

In December 2008, just a few months after the global financial collapse, Petrochemical Industries Co., a subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corp., pulled out of a $17.4 billion contract with K-Dow Petrochemicals, citing the poor global economy as the reason.

The deal between the two companies was considered politically sensitive, and this led to Dow Chemicals suing Kuwait Petroleum Corp., in 2012 eventually being awarded $2.2 billion in damages, after having been found guilty of violating the agreement.

After a few more rough years, Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPC) decided in May, to sack the heads of its eight subsidiary companies, the company’s largest ever shake-up, and a move that they hoped would lead to better management and response strategies during difficult times in the future.

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In an attempt to avoid any such mistakes in the future, Kuwait Petroleum has now signed a $38 million training contract for the new heads of its subsidiaries, designed to improve their competence.

KPC announced that it signed the five year training deal with National Technologies Enterprises Company, an organisation mandated by the Kuwait Council of Ministers with the intent of improving and developing the application of new technologies ion government and private sectors.

Nizar Al-Adsani, the Vice President and CEO of KPC, explained that the new contract will help with Kuwait’s policy to improve the skills of leading figures in the oil industry, in order to prepare them for future oil and petroleum projects that are planned as a part of the county’s development strategy.

Anas Mirza, from the National Technologies Enterprises Company, confirmed that “training and rehabilitating national force work” was one of the tasks laid out in the contract.

Joao Peixe of Oilprice.com