KUWAIT, 4 April 2005 — International oil firms can expect to start the final bidding process for a long-awaited multi-billion-dollar plan to upgrade northern Kuwaiti oil fields by the end of the year, Kuwait’s energy minister said. Energy Minister Ahmad Al-Fahd Al-Sabah also told a seminar late on Saturday that there were no major points of contention over the Project Kuwait plan which is currently being examined by parliament’s finance and economics committee. He said he hopes a meeting this month with the committee wraps up discussions so the MPs are invited to tour the oil fields. The committee will issue its recommendations ahead of a floor debate, expected before the summer recess, in the 50-man house where Project Kuwait faces some opposition, he added.