Kuwait's Supreme Petroleum Council Approves KIPIC–KNPC Merger by Absorption

Kuwait City — Kuwait's Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC) has approved the merger of Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (KIPIC) into Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC), consolidating two downstream subsidiaries of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) into a single national refiner.

The decision was taken at SPC Meeting No. 132 (2026/4) on 29 April 2026 and published in the official gazette, Kuwait Al-Youm, at the end of May 2026. Under it, KIPIC ceases to exist as a separate legal entity and KNPC succeeds to all of KIPIC's assets, rights, obligations and liabilities by way of universal succession — a merger by absorption.

To give effect to the merger, the SPC approved an increase in KNPC's capital equal to the book value of KIPIC's assets as at 31 March 2026, lifting KNPC's capital to approximately KD 2.63 billion (about US$8.5 billion). The plan provides for compensation of KIPIC's minority shareholders — other than KPC — based on an approved asset valuation, and for amendments to KNPC's articles of association to absorb KIPIC's refining, petrochemicals and LNG-import operations at Al-Zour.

The Minister of Oil, in his capacity as KPC chairman, is authorized to set the effective date and oversee implementation, including the final termination of KIPIC's legal status.

The consolidation is the most significant restructuring of Kuwait's downstream petroleum sector in years. It carries direct consequences for KIPIC's contractors, suppliers and counterparties, whose agreements, guarantees and disputes transfer to KNPC by operation of the merger.

► Source: Supreme Petroleum Council Decision, Meeting No. 132 (2026/4), 29 April 2026; published in Kuwait Al-Youm (late May 2026). Cross-referenced with Reuters/Zawya, Kuwait Times and AGBI reporting, June 2026. [Confirm exact gazette issue & page against the relevant Kuwait Al-Youm issue before citing in print.]