KUWAIT: Oil reserves of OPEC member Kuwait have fallen to below 100 billion barrels as daily withdrawals are not being compensated for by an increase in stocks, a newspaper reported on Thursday. "The probability of boosting reserves through new finds is diminishing more and more, especially due to Kuwait's limited area ... which makes technological development the only practical means to raise Kuwaiti reserves," daily newspaper al-Rai reported, citing oil sources. Kuwait, the world's fourth-largest oil exporter, wants to boost its oil capacity to 4 million barrels per day from 3 million bpd in 2020 and sustain the higher capacity level for 10 years. Kuwait's oil reserves have been the subject of controversial public debate. In April, Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmad al-Abdullah al-Sabah told Reuters the Gulf Arab country was sitting on more oil than previously thought. The country holds around 101.5 billion barrels of proved reserves, around 7.6 percent of the world's total, according to BP's 2010 Statistical Review. In 2006, industry newsletter Petroleum Intelligence Week (PIW) said it had seen internal records showing reserves were about 48 billion barrels, or about half what was officially stated. Kuwaiti officials have disputed the lower estimates. Kuwait pumped around 2.3 million barrels per day in May, according to a Reuters survey.
