Due to operational divergences and geopolitical divisions, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait haven’t made any progress in talks about the potential restart of jointly operated oil fields that analysts were hoping could soon add 500,000 bpd of oil production in the Middle East, Reuters reported on Wednesday, quoting sources familiar with the talks. The so-called Partitioned Neutral Zone (PNZ) was established between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in 1922 to settle a territorial dispute between the two countries. As of 2015, the oil production capacity in the neutral zone stood at 600,000 bpd, equally divided between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, according to the EIA. Production from the zone averaged around 500,000 bpd just before the shutdown of the two oil fields, Khafji and Wafra, in 2014-2015. At the end of last month, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed discussed the restart of crude oil production in the neutral zone during a meeting […]