Kuwait Petroleum to begin retiring employees over 60 this year, shifting focus to hiring young nationals

TL;DR:

• Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) will begin retiring employees aged 60 and above to make room for younger Kuwaiti professionals.
  
  
• This step is part of a wider national workforce strategy aimed at reducing dependence on expatriate labor.
  
  
• Recruitment efforts will now focus on fresh graduates, especially Kuwaiti engineers and technicians.
  
  
  

In a strategic overhaul aimed at strengthening national employment in Kuwait ’s vital oil sector, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) has initiated a policy to phase out employees aged 60 and above. The decision, reported by Arab Times on August 2, 2025, marks a significant shift in hiring and retention strategy and aligns with broader nationalization efforts intended to increase the share of Kuwaiti citizens in key economic sectors.
What is Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC)?
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) is the fully state-owned national oil company of Kuwait, established in 1980 to consolidate all key hydrocarbon assets under one umbrella. Headquartered in Kuwait City, KPC operates across the entire oil and gas value chain—including exploration, production, refining, petrochemicals, marketing, and transportation. It manages several major subsidiaries such as Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC), and Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI‑Q8), making it a globally integrated energy enterprise that accounts for about 7% of the world’s crude oil production. KPC also plays a strategic role in driving sustainability, energy transition, and national economic development in line with Kuwait’s Vision.

Retirement of employees above 60 set to begin
Under the new directive, KPC and its subsidiaries will not renew contracts for personnel who have reached 60 years of age, whether they are in technical, administrative, or supervisory roles. Only in rare and justified operational cases will an extension be considered—and that too with the approval of top-level management. This marks a move away from blanket contract extensions and introduces a more performance- and necessity-driven retention policy.

Shift toward national workforce prioritized
The initiative is a core part of Kuwait’s “Kuwaitization” drive, an ongoing effort to reduce the country’s dependence on expatriate labor and ensure more job opportunities for its own citizens. As oil continues to be the backbone of the national economy, integrating qualified Kuwaiti nationals into all layers of the petroleum industry has become a top priority for government planners.

KPC is now expected to ramp up its recruitment campaigns, particularly targeting young engineers and recent graduates from Kuwaiti universities and technical colleges. These efforts will include outreach programs, training schemes, and onboarding support, aimed at equipping new hires to take on significant roles across both upstream and downstream operations.

Case-by-case review for essential personnel
While the general policy dictates non-renewal beyond age 60, exceptions will be considered when specific employees hold essential skills or institutional knowledge critical to ongoing projects. Even in such cases, however, extensions will only be granted after a comprehensive review by department heads and final approval by the CEO or board-level leadership.
KPC officials clarified that this is not a sudden or sweeping purge of experienced workers. Instead, the plan is structured to ensure a smooth transition where knowledge transfer from senior professionals to younger employees can occur. The long-term objective is to balance legacy experience with new-age innovation, ensuring both continuity and growth in an increasingly competitive global energy market.

The phased rollout of this policy is expected to begin later this year. While exact numbers on affected employees have not been released, internal communications have already begun informing eligible staff of the impending changes. With this move, Kuwait joins other Gulf nations in reevaluating public-sector employment models to better serve national goals amid shifting economic dynamics.