The new fuel prices will be applied on Thursday, as being Octane-91: 85 fils per liter, Octane-95: 105 fpl and Ultra-Premium: 165 fpl. The Cabinet has approved the raising decision on August first, by recommendation of the economic committee.
The price increase will create a change in consumption of Octane-91 and Octane-95, as more consumers will tend to use the Octane-91, Chief Executive Officer of Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) Mohammad Al-Mutairi told KUNA on Wednesday.
KNPC has already prepared its fueling stations for such changes and provided sufficient amount of fuel to cover the rising demands in the local market, he added. He noted that Al-Ahmadi and Al-Shuaiba refineries produce about 1.84 million liters of Octane-91, 9.39 million liters of Octane-95 and 270,000 liters of Ultra 98, which is a total of 11.5 million liters of Gasoline daily. As for the daily consumption of all three types, Al-Mutairi said it is 1,833 million liters of Octane-91, about 9,135 liters of Octane-95 and 267,000 liters of Ultra 98, with a total of 11,235 million liters of average daily consumption.
The growth of gasoline consumption in the past five years in Kuwait is about four percent, he said.
In 2011, consumption rates were recorded at over 3,531 billion liters, about 3,682 billion liters in 2012, 3,810 billion liters in 2013, 4,006 billion liters in 2014 and over 4,122 billion liters in 2015. The new pricing is close to international rates, said the official, noting that Octane-91 and Octane-95 are state-subsidies. The pricing decision was made to rationalize subsidies and improve the country's budget deficit. Statistics show that after the raise, fuel prices in Kuwait will still remain the lowest among the Gulf States.
The Cabinet has tasked a special commission to re-examine the State subsidies and the fuel prices every three months, to be in harmony with the global rates.
Meanwhile, His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah has previously stressed that the decision was an "extreme necessity" for Kuwait to follow up with the economic changes in the world. After the raising decision, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry announced it will not accept any raise in food items' prices. Saudi Arabia raised fuel prices on December 28, 2015, Bahrain on January 11, 2016, Qatar and Oman on January 15, and UAE on May 29, 2016.