KNPC to up security at sites

KUWAIT CITY, July 4, 2016 – Kuwait National Petroleum Company on Sunday said it would beef up security at its oil installations. The move, to be co-ordinated with the Ministry of Interior, comes amid an uptick in attacks by Islamic State (IS) militants and little more than a year after the mosque bombing in Kuwait City that left 27 dead.

“Intensive security plans to protect oil installations and facilities will be supported by the military and taken up after co-ordinating with the Ministry of Interior and its subsidiary bodies,” company spokesperson Khaled al Asousi was quoted as saying by the Kuwait News Agency. An IS attack in Baghdad on Saturday killed at least 200 people and left some 150 injured. Last week, 45 people lost their lives at Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport in an attack also credited to IS.

Also on Sunday, the Kuwaiti parliament passed the 2016-2017 budget, which revealed the country’s first deficit – some USD 18.2 billion – in 16 years. Kuwait will turn to the international debt markets to finance its shortfall.

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