KUWAIT CITY, 28 March 2005 — Kuwaiti Energy Minister Ahmad Fahd Al-Sabah said the cost of major plans to develop four oil fields with the assistance of foreign oil majors will be over $8.5 billion, newspapers reported yesterday. Ahmad, who last month submitted new draft legislation to regulate the Kuwait Project to the emirate’s parliament, told a press conference late Saturday that the cost was raised from an early estimate of $7 billion. The returns of foreign companies during the 20-year investment will be around $3.2 billion, he said.