Kuwait’s oil ministry announced on Sunday that the first shipment of al-Khafji crude oil from the so-called the Neutral Zone shared with Saudi Arabia has been exported, the first in five years.

 

The shipment was loaded Saturday and Sunday on to the Kuwaiti tanker Dar Salwa, the ministry said in a tweet.

 

Oil Minister Khaled al-Fadhel said on Friday the Dar Salwa will be heading to Asia carrying about one million barrels of crude.

 

OPEC members Saudi Arabia and Kuwait started trial oil production from the jointly operated oilfields in February, after agreeing last year to end a five-year dispute over the shared zone which can pump up to 0.5 percent of global oil supply.