Kuwait is facing its worst crisis in the oil sector since Iraq's 1990 invasion, the head of state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said, as the war between the United States and Iran continues to disrupt access to the Strait of Hormuz.
"Without a doubt, this is the toughest and biggest crisis that we have faced in the oil sector in Kuwait since the 1990 invasion by Iraq," KPC chief executive Shaikh Nawaf Saud Al-Sabah told France24.
The disruption poses a major threat to Kuwait's economy, which is heavily dependent on oil exports. More than 90% of government revenue and nearly all export earnings rely on crude sales, while Kuwait holds about 6% of the world's total oil reserves.
Unlike Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait has no pipelines that bypass the Strait of Hormuz, leaving its crude exports dependent on the contested waterway to reach international markets.
Preliminary official data showed Kuwait's economy contracted 4.6% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, while oil-sector GDP fell 12.5%.
The full economic impact is expected to be significantly greater, as the available data cover only the first month of the conflict.
The prolonged disruption to the Strait of Hormuz has left Kuwait particularly vulnerable because of its dependence on the waterway for oil exports.
By Sabina Mammadli
