Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) has earmarked $15 billion in a new five-year development plan for capital expenditure.

KPC's CEO and deputy chairman Nader Sultan responded in parliament to criticism to the group's investment policies by saying that 4.68 billion Kuwaiti dinars ($15.18 billion) will go over the next five years to new projects.

Sultan did not give further details in parliament but after the session he said that the funds will mainly be spent by KPC's domestic refining arm Kuwait National Petroleum Co (KNPC), its Petrochemicals Industries Co (PIC) and Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), which is the sole producer of oil in the small country.

The parliament discussed the financial statement for KPC for the fiscal year which started on April 1 and is due to vote on it on June 18.

Some MPs criticised KPC's handling of its financial investments, which are valued at around three billion dinars, but Sultan said the funds will disappear as the giant firm moves to implement its petroleum development projects.

Meanwhile, Kuwait's Oil Minister and head of KPC Adel Al Subaih said the firm made a net profit of 905 million dinars in the last nine-month fiscal period to the end of March, exceeding projection by 57 per cent.

KPC had projected a net profit of 389.668 million dinars for the nine-month fiscal period, but it was calculated at an average price of $13 per barrel for Kuwaiti crudes, which averaged almost double the estimate during the period.

KPC made an actual net profit of 784.131 million dinars in the fiscal year 1999/2000 (July-June).

KPC's financial statement projects a net profit during the current fiscal year of 616.68 million dinars but the figure is built on $15 per barrel estimate for Kuwaiti crudes which are currently selling for between $20.59 and $26.56 per barrel.