Kuwait Oilfield Services Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends and Forecast (2026 - 2031)

Kuwait Oilfield Services Market Trends and Insights

Rising Investment in Offshore Projects

KPC finished six offshore exploration wells by mid-2025 and plans 18 more, diversifying beyond its onshore core.^{[1]Zawya News Desk, “Al-Nokhatha and Al-Julaiah discoveries boost offshore plans,” zawya.com} The July 2024 Al-Nokhatha find added roughly 1.5 billion boe, the January 2025 Al-Julaiah discovery contributed about 800 million boe, and the Jazza-1 test delivered over 29 MMscf/d plus 5,000 bpd of condensate. Kuwaiti and Saudi partners aim to bring Dorra onstream at 1 Bcf/d of gas and 84,000 bpd of condensate following December 2025 site approval in Al-Zour. Offshore demand now spans jack-up drilling, subsea positioning, and marine logistics, and will ease once Saudi Arabia releases nearly 27 jack-ups in 2026. The new marine frontier broadens the Kuwait oilfield services market by introducing activities that traditional onshore contractors rarely provide.

Accelerated Infill Drilling to Stem Mature-Field Decline

Greater Burgan slipped from 1.7 million bpd in 2005 to 1.3 million bpd in the 2020s, with a natural decline near 6% a year.^{[2]Zawya News Desk, “Al-Nokhatha and Al-Julaiah discoveries boost offshore plans,” zawya.com} Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) counters this with continuous infill wells and rigless interventions. A structured workflow across 600 Sabria wells lifted output by 20% over three years through iterative water-shutoff, stimulation, and artificial-lift upgrades.^{[3]Schlumberger, “Integrated production optimization workflow lifts output in mature field,” slb.com} Nine five-year drilling contracts awarded in July 2024 to local firms add 550-hp rigs focused on heavy-oil zones, generating local jobs and fleet depth. High-density full-azimuth seismic is now KOC’s standard for pinpointing bypassed pay, ensuring drilling activity continues even as production services accelerate.

Shift to Integrated Project Management Contracts

KOC is moving from discrete service awards to IPM frameworks that fold engineering, drilling, completion, and production optimization into single agreements. Technip Energies landed a EUR 250-500 million consultancy in 2024, and KBR secured FEED for the South Ratqa heavy-oil project targeting 60,000 bpd by 2030. Petrofac followed with a USD 4 billion heavy-oil award in January 2025, despite balance-sheet stress. IPM shifts more performance risk onto contractors, rewarding those able to blend subsurface insight, automation, and supply-chain muscle. Smaller local firms are adapting by teaming up or focusing on niche scopes such as workover rigs or wellsite logistics.

Digital Well-Construction Initiatives

Halliburton achieved Kuwait’s first fully automated directional run in the Bahra Field in 2025, cutting drilling time by 30% with zero engineer intervention using LOGIX automation and PulseStar telemetry. Schlumberger’s KwIDF program applies fiber-optic DAS and edge analytics to diagnose inflow control device failures, guiding coiled-tubing fixes that more than doubled well output in Minagish and Sabriyah. Baker Hughes’ December 2025 ESP contract integrates FusionPro drives and Leucipa real-time analytics to predict failures and trim downtime. Weatherford runs Real-Time Decision Centers, overseeing drilling and completions remotely. Although digital uptake is uneven, early adopters are demonstrating material cost savings and higher initial production rates.

Higher Breakeven for Deep HP/HT Prospects

While onshore wells break even near USD 40-50/bbl, deep Jurassic and offshore HP/HT prospects need USD 60-80/bbl due to specialized drilling fluids, high-spec casing, and long rig cycles. Middle-East jack-up day rates averaged USD 80,000-100,000 in 2024-2025, inflating well costs and forcing schedule trade-offs. Even though KPC budgets USD 9-10 billion annually through 2030, capital will favor quicker-payback infill work when prices soften. Service firms are mitigating cost pressure through tailored bits, performance-based IPM models, and closer integration of drilling and completion data, yet the structural premium for HP/HT wells persists.

Renewable-Energy Targets Dampening Long-Term Demand

Kuwait aims for 15% renewables in the power mix by 2030, anchored by Shagaya solar and wind farms. Displacing 20% of the 400,000 bpd currently burned for power could free 80,000 bpd for export, trimming the urgency for fresh drilling. Nevertheless, KPC’s goal of 4 million bpd by 2035 underscores that renewables are meant to raise export capacity, not curtail upstream spending. Even so, the policy injects uncertainty into long-dated HP/HT and deepwater projects, nudging service buyers toward flexible, modular contracts and intensifying competition for near-term, low-cost opportunities.

Segment Analysis

By Service Type: Drilling Dominates While Production Services Accelerate

Drilling contributed 36.5% of the Kuwait oilfield services market share in 2025, buoyed by constant infill wells in Greater Burgan and the offshore appraisal program.^{[4]Zawya Energy, “Shagaya renewables target 15% of mix by 2030,” zawya.com} Production and intervention lines, however, are slated for a 7.6% CAGR through 2031 as operators lean on rigless techniques to restore flow without mobilizing full workover spreads. High-density seismic, automated drilling tools, and digital ESP platforms are lifting recovery from mature reservoirs. Meanwhile, premium cement and multistage fracturing jobs are gaining traction in tight carbonate and heavy-oil zones, widening the Kuwait oilfield services market size available to specialty contractors.

The growth in production services benefits providers of coiled-tubing cleanouts, electric submersible pumps, and digital well surveillance. A December 2025 award saw Baker Hughes integrate FusionPro drives with Leucipa analytics across multiple fields, anchoring a multi-year revenue stream. Schlumberger’s digital-slickline-conveyed straddle system restored 800 bpd in a single well while bypassing a 60-day rig workover. Such case studies underline why the segment’s growth outpaces the broader Kuwait oilfield services market.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By Location: Onshore Base Meets Offshore Upswing

Onshore work accounted for 80.1% of 2025 spending, reflecting the dominance of Greater Burgan, North Kuwait heavy-oil sites, and West Kuwait assets that together produce above 2.4 million bpd. Continuous infill drilling, water injection, and artificial-lift optimization keep this base steady. Weatherford’s joint venture operates eight rigs onshore, while Halliburton’s 2025 fully automated run in Bahra highlights the push for efficiency.

Offshore activity, though smaller, is projected to clock a 9.0% CAGR until 2031, fueled by Dorra, Al-Nokhatha, Al-Julaiah, and Jazza. Kuwait Municipal Council’s December 2025 nod for Dorra infrastructure in Al-Zour removes a critical hurdle, and KOC plans 18 further wells. Marine demand spans anchor-handling tugs, subsea positioning, and uncrewed survey vessels supplied by GAC Marine and Fugro, expanding the Kuwait oilfield services market size beyond its traditional onshore core.

By Well Type: Conventional Base, Unconventional Pivot

Conventional wells made up 81.9% of 2025 activity, sustaining the bulk of current output with rotary steerable drilling, ICD completions, and ESP maturation programs. Smart multilateral designs in West Kuwait combine inflow control valves with downhole gauges to tame water-cut issues in highly permeable reservoirs.

Unconventional development, heavy oil at South Ratqa and tight carbonates in Bahra, is forecast to rise at an 8.3% CAGR through 2031. Thermal recovery, multistage fracturing, and sand-management technologies dominate the spend. KBR’s FEED assignment and Petrofac’s USD 4 billion heavy-oil award highlight the scale of forthcoming opportunities, underscoring why integrated contractors capable of bundling drilling, stimulation, artificial lift, and real-time optimization are poised to capture a growing share of the Kuwait oilfield services market.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

Geography Analysis

Kuwait’s entire oilfield services activity unfolds within its borders, yet regional dynamics shape cost and availability. Onshore, Greater Burgan’s 6% annual decline forces continuous drilling and water-management projects, anchoring a large chunk of service demand. North Kuwait’s Lower Fars heavy-oil campaign leverages nine locally awarded drilling contracts to build domestic capacity, while West Kuwait fields deploy smart multilateral wells to counter early water breakthrough. These initiatives absorb rigs, fracturing spreads, and artificial-lift crews, sustaining the onshore portion of the Kuwait oilfield services market.

Offshore, Dorra’s bilateral alignment with Saudi Arabia, Al-Nokhatha’s 1.5 billion boe potential, and Al-Julaiah’s 800 million boe discovery collectively drive a 9.0% CAGR forecast for marine services. KOC shifted the Oriental Phoenix rig to the Jazza area and is shopping for additional jack-ups as Saudi supply loosens in 2026. Marine logistics firms such as GAC and subsea survey leaders like Fugro are lining up contracts for anchor handling, crew transfers, and GroundIQ geotechnical campaigns.

Regionally, Kuwait competes with GCC neighbors for rigs, vessels, and experienced crews, so utilization swings in Saudi or UAE projects ripple into Kuwaiti day rates. Evercore’s outlook for 2026 suggests jack-up availability will improve when Saudi lets 27 units go, potentially tempering cost inflation and widening the offshore component of the Kuwait oilfield services market.