Kuwait Petroleum Corporation's marketing strategy is to seek to expand its world activities and open new horizons for promising projects in all the different fields of the oil industry: oil and gas exploration, production and world marketing.

As a result of this strategy, KPC's business, as carried out by its subsidiary companies, covers the four corners of the world.
The corporation is now well established in the major world markets and is endeavouring to grasp the promising opportunities to reinforce its financial yields and expand the scope of its operations.
Despite increasing competition in the world oil market and the challenges that have emerged with the New World Order, the International Marketing Sector is still implementing its strategic plans aimed at reinforcing its position in the main markets and diversifying the outlets of crude oil and oil products exportation.
The Eastern markets are the main outlets for Kuwaiti crude oil and oil products, but the corporation is looking forward to reinforcing its position in other markets which offer promising opportunities.
Kuwaiti oil exports include crude oil and oil products, liquefied petroleum gas, chemical fertilisers, salt and chlorine. These exports have witnessed considerable changes over the years.
In the 1970s crude oil accounted for 84 per cent of exports. At a later stage, Kuwait adopted a strategy to gain higher yields by increasing the exports of oil products, petroleum gas and petrochemicals, by modernising and expanding the refineries. KPC, through its subsidiary Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI), also acquired a number of fuel oil stations in several countries to directly expand the marketing scope of Kuwaiti oil products.
As the years passed, Kuwait came to occupy an eminent position in oil markets in many countries and different geographical areas, since it regularly met the requirements of such markets and gained a good reputation as a reliable supplier.
However, the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait caused the destruction of much of the oil infrastructure including the export facilities and some 40 per cent of the storage tanks.
The decision to abolish dealing through intermediaries reinforced the determination of the International Marketing Sector to focus on expanding its activities in the main markets where KPC has interests, to gain access to new markets which offer promising opportunities and to search for new non-traditional opportunities in established markets.
Indeed, KPC reinforced its presence in the markets of Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and India. Most notably, the Corporation succeeded in increasing exports to Bangladesh, and has now become the major supplier to that country; indeed, its exports amount to two million tonnes per day i.e. 70 per cent of the overall market share.
Another major marketing achievement is that of gaining access to the Spanish markets by the conclusion of contracts with Sispa and Repsol companies. This success represents the beginning of the implementation of the corporation's strategy aimed at expanding activities in Europe.
According to the future plans, the Corporation will become the main supplier of Kuwait Petroleum International in the airports of Europe, Thailand and Hong Kong.
Ten years ago, Africa was a major market for Kuwaiti intermediate oil by-products, but the hard conditions suffered by the Kuwaiti refineries as a result of the brutal Iraqi invasion had a bad effect on the quality of these by-products and consequently on the relation with some markets in this field.
The International Marketing Sector has recently regained these markets and opened other markets in the continent by concluding spot selling transactions in several African countries.
KPC now seeks to hold negotiations to conclude long-term contracts for a period ranging from one to three years.
China is a very promising market with the prospect of greatly increasing future demand in which KPC is endeavouring to reinforce its position.
The Chinese market has potential not only for the supply of crude oil but for Kuwaiti investments in such fields as refineries and oil by-products industries.
The International Marketing Sector has been seeking access to the Chinese markets for a long time and started by cooperating with the world giant corporations which are already settled in the east.
The Shell Company was successfully supplied with aviation fuel for the Singapore and Hong Kong airports in order to reinforce the Corporation's presence in the latter.
This agreement represents a great achievement as it provides the corporation with an access to the huge Chinese market through its commercial gateway, Hong Kong.
Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (Kufpec) has made an impressive turnaround by converting losses to gains.
Until a few years ago, Kufpec was regarded as the losing horse in the Corporation's race but has now proved itself a successful investment by any standards and recently recorded a considerable increase in profits. Kufpec continues its achievements by expanding its investment projects to cover new areas and several countries that are full of promising opportunities for exploration.
Kufpec was established in 1981 and is the only company in the Arabian Gulf region which carries out integrated operations including exploration, development and production in many regions of the world, including: Australia, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sudan, Tunisia and Yemen.
The corporation's strategy consists of expanding the scope of its oil industry related activities in the whole world by adopting an investment policy which is flexible, diversified and supported by a world class technical expertise, and by focusing on investments which represent a strong guarantee of long-term profitability.
In the 1980s, Kufpec started to operate on its own account after having acquired operating rights in the Northern and Southern AI Qiaruwan fields in Tunisia and after having explored for oil in Egypt and gas in China. In 1989, the Company carried out the first commercial oil exploration in the Sidi Al Kilani field in Tunisia, the Company's first integrated exploration, development and production project.
Kufpec hopes to rise up to the standard of world companies, and is now exploring for oil in larger fields, as the company has a long-term plan of increasing production to 100,000 bpd by the year 2010 compared to the current production of around 43,000 bpd.
The company is also seeking to increase its strategic reserves from the current 230 million barrels to 410 million barrels by 2010.
In more recent years, the company expanded its exploration activities in new regions around the world such as Australia and Indonesia. Kufpec took part in three exploration sectors which complete the Australian business portfolio and represent an excellent basis for the operations there.
 In 2003, the development of the Exceter Mountaineer field was launched as well as the development of some facilities in the island of Veranus which will be finalised in 2005.
These projects will help increase the gas productivity and reinforce the facilities required for the Burrup plant. The Oseel field in Indonesia has started to operate effectively.
In the Arab countries, the company has begun to set up plans to enter into the new exploration sector 24, and is now seeking to participate in a new project, in collaboration with a foreign company, of carrying out oil exploration in Qatar, as well as geological and air surveys by which it hopes to discover commercial quantities.
Currently, the company is studying several strategic projects in many countries of the world including projects for the exploration and development of oil fields in Syria where many projects have been made available to the private sector by the Syrian government.
These proposed projects include, among others, the development of many newly discovered gas fields in the country, via several tenders in which many world oil companies have participated. Another big project, the 'Tadmur Gas Project' involves the development of gas fields in the Tadmur region. These projects grew in importance when the government decided to finalise the Arab gas pipeline project which stretches from Egypt and passes through Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, and will later be extended to several European countries.
In Pakistan, Kufpec intends to carry out offshore exploration which is quite new there since only one or two companies have preceded the company in this field. Kufpec announced the discovery of additional gas reserves in the 'Kadanoury' and 'Zamzama' fields where the k-14 assessment results of the well in the Kadanoury field revealed the existence of a gas reservoir 28 meters thick and with a production flow of 15.5 million cubic feet per day.
The company estimates that this well contains reserves ranging from 50 to 150 billion cubic feet of gas, which stands to reinforce the overall reserves of the Kadanoury field. Production from this well is expected to start in 2005. In the Zamzama field, the assessment drilling of well ZZE-1 revealed the presence of a gas reservoir in the 'door' layer at a depth of 4,150 meters with a thickness of more than 36 meters and containing a reservoir with an estimated capacity of around 150-200 billion cubic feet of gas.
The company expects that these two wells will help provide a clearer view of the nature of reservoirs in the Kadanoury and Zamzama fields. The assessment studies now being conducted will contribute to a production plan for these two reservoirs.
This production will be added to the existing contracts covering gas produced by these fields and sold in the Pakistani market.
Kufpec has a portfolio of gas producing assets in Pakistan, in collaboration with the British Bremer Oil Company. 
It also has other exploration assets and the company hopes that such assets will generate positive yields in the future.
Finally in Russia, there is a joint committee between Kufpec and the Russian Federation which considers any exploration opportunities which are in line with Kufpec's aspirations and goals.
Meanwhile, the activities of KPI constitute some of the major business of the Corporation in Europe and Thailand. The company is in charge of selling oil products throughout the world, and of supervising the various refining programmes which have a longterm guarantee of profitability. The company's strategies for achieving these goals are based on the principles of the company which is devotedly committed to serve its business, the environment and the society, and to develop and promote the capabilities of its employees while observing the highest administrative, operating and safety standards.
KPI's marketing strategies are based on renewal, innovation and the quality of products. In this context, the company introduced the first unleaded fuel in Europe and created the first network for diesel sales across borders for long distance trucks.
In 1983, KPC took the opportunity to enter the downstream sector when Gulf Oil opted to dispose of most of its refining and marketing interests in Europe. KPC bought Gulf's interests in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, and subsequently Sweden and Denmark.
Early in 1984 Gulf's marketing and distribution interests were acquired in Italy, and in 1986 came the move into the UK. KPI has been quick to utilise opportunities for further acquisitions where these show good strategic fit.
KPI's network of more than 4,000 08 branded service stations extends across seven European countries - Italy, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, Luxemburg and Thailand.