State-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) is facing difficulties in securing new loans, from both international and local banks, Saad Al Barrak, Kuwait’s Oil Minister and KPC Chairman said, in a document seen by Reuters.

He said some global banks had stopped financing oil and gas firms due to "the world's trend towards applying standards of governance, social and environmental responsibility, and alternative energy."

Meanwhile, locally, Kuwait's central bank has not increased the quota for the sector, Al Barrak said in response to a parliamentary query dated December 24.

As a result, he said it was 'extremely' important that KPC keep its profits, to cover part of the expected deficit, to ensure business continuity and completion of required projects.

In November, Reuters reported that KPC was facing a $45.7 billion shortfall to meet its five-year spending plan (forecast at $77.98 billion and which runs until March 31, 2028), and would need to borrow and sell assets to help plug the gap.

Confirming this, Al Barrak said: "Borrowing will be through commercial or Islamic loans and export credit agencies, and the assets that will be sold are non-strategic assets, which are no longer useful."

KPC owes the government about over $20 billion in arrears to date, the minister said.