Wedged between Iraq, Saudi Arabia and looking out over the Persian Gulf, the territory of Kuwait is tiny. Its landmass of 17,820 square kilometers is just 3% that of Texas and its population of 2.3 million is a half-million fewer than that of Chicago. Its importance in the energy world is as big as that of Texas, nonetheless. Kuwait remains one of the epicenters of the global hydrocarbon industry, producing 2.4 million barrels of oil per day and holding 99 billion barrels (or 9%) of the world’s proven reserves.