Kuwait Oil Company's first offshore exploratory and drilling operations for oil and gas are expected to end in 2026, the state-owned firm's chief geologist said.

But the timeline "depends on the progress of operations at sea," Kuwait Oil Company's Ahmed Al-Otaibi told reporters during a briefing at the Kuwaiti oil ministry on Wednesday.

If drilling is successful, new production could begin and potentially boost Kuwait's oil and gas output.

Kuwait began exploring offshore as it invests to meet future oil demand and received its first offshore rig in mid-2022, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation Chief Executive Sheikh Nawaf Saud al-Sabah told Reuters in June last year. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation is Kuwait Oil Company's parent.

The operations, in an area of Kuwaiti waters about a third the size of Kuwait's land area, began last year and are expected to take four years, Al-Otaibi said.

The firm will drill six offshore wells in the exploratory area of 6,000 square kilometres.