(Adds cabinet comment paragraph 10)

By Mahmoud Harbi

KUWAIT, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Kuwait's emir urged deputies to work with a new cabinet at the opening session of parliament on Tuesday but the Gulf Arab state's political crisis was set to worsen with demands for the removal of the new oil minister. Parliament reopened after the summer recess to a new government lineup after a wide-ranging reshuffle this week moved Finance Minister Bader al-Humaidhi to head the Oil Ministry and sacked Justice Minister Abdallah al-Matuq.

The long-awaited cabinet change followed a standoff between parliament and government that has virtually paralysed decision-making in the OPEC oil exporter for much of the year.

Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah slammed the political bickering, saying the Kuwaiti public had followed it "with much bitterness and frustration due to the lack of cooperation, continued crises and modest achievements".

In a sharp speech to the 50-seat house, the emir, who has the last word in Kuwaiti politics, called on deputies to make a fresh start and put the country's interests first.

But despite his repeated calls on the executive and legislative branches to work together, seven deputies of the opposition Popular Bloc walked out when the new government was sworn in, protesting Humaidhi's appointment as oil minister.

They later returned, but the second cabinet change in a year looked unlikely to solve the crisis that has delayed reforms such as a bill to cut tax on foreign firms and plans to explore the northern oil fields.

DISSOLVING PARLIAMENT?

Mussallam al-Barrak, a member of the Popular Bloc, asked Kuwait's prime minister on Tuesday to remove Humaidhi as oil minister, warning that some deputies would not work with the new government while he was in office.

Islamist MP Dhaifallah Buramia submitted a request to question Humaidhi last week after a newspaper suggested he had made administrative and financial mistakes. Opposition MPs say he has been shifted to a new position to avoid questioning.

But the government showed no sign of acquiescing to parliamentary pressure, with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Faisal al-Hajji telling reporters that Humaidhi's appointment was constitutional.

The previous oil minister Sheikh Ali al-Jarrah al-Sabah quit in June to avoid a no-confidence vote in parliament. Sherida al-Moasherji stood down as communications minister at the same time and then-health minister Massouma al-Mubarak quit after a hospital fire in August, leaving three portfolios vacant.

Calls for a no-confidence vote in the last health minister had already precipitated a cabinet change earlier this year.

Analysts said the emir was on the brink of dissolving parliament earlier this year to end the deadlock, and some say that is becoming increasingly likely as the crisis drags on.

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