in this issue - kuwait petroleum corporation · 2014. 8. 18. · kuwait petroleum corporation...

In This IssueQuarterly Magazine

Issue No. 48, April 2009

KPC MissionKuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), fully owned by the State of Kuwait, is one of the world’s major oil and gas companies. It is focused on petroleum exploration and production, refining, marketing, petrochemical production & sales, and transport. KPC’s mission is to manage and operate these integrated activities worldwide in an efficient and professional manner. In addition, KPC is committed to growing shareholder value, while ensuring the optimum exploitation of Kuwait’s hydrocarbon resources. KPC has an important role in contributing to the development of the Kuwaiti economy, developing a national workforce, maintaining superior commercial and technical expertise, and pro-actively managing the environmental, health, and safety aspects of KPC’s businesses.

8International/National Oil Companies Forum in Kuwait for the first time

I&C Division MAB certified to ISO 17020

10‘Sustainable Development’: a KPC priority

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The KPC World team would like to extend their appreciation to everyone who contributed editorial material, information, and photos for this magazine issue.

CorrespondenceP.O. Box: 26565, 13126 Safat, KuwaitFax: (965) 24994991Website: www.kpc.com.kwEmail: [email protected]

Talal Al-Khalid Al-SabahManaging Director, Governmental,Parliamentary, Public and Media Relations

Editor-in-Chief

Media Relations Dept.

Editorial Team

KNPC holds a distinctive environmental position

20Petroleum Research Center: hopes and ambitions

24ERM protects KPC and its subsidiaries

28Bioremediation: the ideal method of treatment to clean contaminated soil

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Aromatics Project: an industry cornerstone in Kuwait

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Issue No. 48 April 2009

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“In an important step indicating the responsibility, coop-eration and flexibility which it exhibits in dealing with ex-ternal markets and with oil consuming countries, OPEC issued a decision on Sunday March 15 2009 to maintain its production limit at 24 million bpd. OPEC’s decision helps to reveal the truth to those countries and organiza-tions which had accused it of undermining global eco-nomical growth in light of the severe financial crisis the world is currently witnessing. The decision dashed the hopes of some countries that were anticipating and even leaking incorrect reports of OPEC’s intention of further reducing production levels to ensure the continuation of the relatively stable prices being witnessed by the markets at the moment, meaning that OPEC remains accused of hindering global economic growth. However, OPEC min-isters were able to announce to the world that the organi-zation is well aware of its responsibilities and that it is one of the global economy’s growth factors rather than the opposite, as some believe.

In fact, Kuwait’s approach, rejecting any new reduction in production levels, inspires pride in the vital role it plays at the international level: H.E. Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah announced that Kuwait does not support reduc-tions in production levels in the meantime to allow for the global economic situation.

As we are proud of our international stance, we are also proud of our accomplishments on the domestic stage rep-resented by Kuwait’s recent winning of two prizes in the environmental field. The first is the Council of Arab Envi-ronmental Affairs Ministers’ Prize for 2008, and the sec-ond is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Environmental Man-agement Prize 2007/2008. These two prizes indicate KPC’s immense efforts in the environmental field.

In this regard, the new issue of ‘KPC World’ includes arti-cles on a number of interesting subjects in styles varying between interview, reportage and scientific study. Fore-most among the latter is a valuable scientific study carried out by Dr. Fatima Al-Shatti into bioremediation and Ku-wait’s successful efforts in this domain, as well as shedding light on Abdullah Port Refinery’s accomplishment and its acquisition of ISO 17020 certification pertaining to evalu-ating, inspecting and approving personnel, facilities, tech-nical experience, management systems and records.”

Editorial

Talal Al-Khalid Al-SabahManaging Director, Governmental,Parliamentary, Public and Media Relations

“The company has two refiner-ies in Europe whose products in-clude petrol, diesel, airplane fuel, heating fuel and lubrication oils, as well as other petroleum prod-ucts like aerosols and asphalt. KPI markets these products to its Eu-ropean customers either through its 4,000 gas stations or by directly selling them to KPI customers such as schools, houses, hospitals and power plants. Due to the current financial crisis, the global demand for oil products has increased sub-stantially, affecting sales volume. Moreover, the great declines in oil prices have changed European cus-tomer behavior and a 3% decrease in consumption ensued.

Direct proportionIsmail further explained, “Petro-chemical prices are directly linked to Kuwait’s economic perfor-mance. Without a doubt, the re-cession that affected many coun-tries as a result of the current financial crisis has led to a reduc-tion in the international demand for petrochemicals, especially in the Asian countries where pro-duction is concentrated. This led some countries to close their fac-tories or reduce their operation rate. In addition, naphtha prices also decreased as a natural result ensuing from ethylene production and the price decrease, with eth-ylene being the main substance in petrochemical production.

China’s refinery and petrochemical complex

On the subject of KPI’s expansion projects, Ismael remarked, “The company invested in two refining projects in China. The first is the Natsha Project (Juangdong), where we plan to have a 300,000 bpd pro-duction capacity, with the actual op-eration scheduled for 2012/2013. After completing feasibility studies, we handed the initial project study to China’s Planning and Industry Min-istry in May 2008. Currently, KPI is preparing a partnership agreement with a foreign team and is defining the partnership’s optimum form. KPI is also studying the means and methodologies of working with its partners in the marketing domain. Moreover, we are preparing for the “feed” phase of the project; this is dedicated to geometrical designs and details and is expected to launch dur-ing the first half of this year.”

He elaborated: “Planned for launch-ing in 2015 is the second project, named “Fujian,” with a 200,000 bpd production capacity. We acquired ini-tial approval for the project from the Fujian government. Furthermore, KPI signed a Memorandum of Un-derstanding (MoU) with Shell and Sinochem to contribute to the proj-ect. When the Chinese government’s confirmation Is obtained, the project will then be presented to Aroba’s ad-ministrative board and KPC to take the project to the next level.”

Hussein Ismael, KPI’s Chairman and MD, said recently, “KPI is KPC’s investment arm in the field of refining and marketing Kuwait’s oil products abroad and is not con-fined to crude oil export only: KPI owns strategic shares of more than 50% and executes KPC’s exter-nal expansion strategy in the East Asian region. It focuses on coun-tries with an increasing demand for oil and its derivatives due to their financial growth, like China, India and Vietnam. KPI gives top prior-ity to investment in countries that provide a safe outlet for Kuwaiti crude oil merchandising. It has also formed coalitions with inter-national companies working in the targeted country. This is based on KPI’s defined responsibility aiming at external expansion in the mar-keting and refining sector along the lines of KPI’s “Growth Strat-egy. This strategy was approved after conducting a comprehensive study of the international markets. It showed that KPI’s optimum in-vestment opportunities lie within projects being executed in high-growth countries. Such projects have a financial feasibility which meets KPC’s objectives in enter-ing international markets through all its subsidiaries, not only KPI.”

Regarding KPI’s products and the crisis’ impacts on sales he said:

Hussein Ismael: We own strategic shares of more than 50% and aim to expand externally in marketing and refining

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Kuwait’s immense oil potential. This enables Kuwait to occupy the leading position in the Gulf area through con-structing ammonia and nitrogen fertil-izers plants while pursuing the utiliza-tion of natural gas in a bid to diversify its national income sources, as well as achieving fertilizer self-sufficiency.”Specialist statistics indicate that Gulf companies working in the petrochemi-cal field intend to invest about US $120 billion in the future to develop and ex-pand the petrochemical industry.The preparations for the fair come dur-ing a period when the world is witness-ing steep falls in energy demand, as well as a noticeable decline of about 60% in oil prices as compared to the same pe-riod last year in light of the global re-cession hitting the world’s economies.The international fair aims to contrib-ute to opening channels of dialogue on the means to develop the petrochemi-cal industry in Kuwait and the region’s countries through the analysis of expe-riences and models of energy programs and petrochemical industries around the world.

Crown Prince sponsors petrochemicals and energy

conference and fairThe ‘International Kuwait Fair’ Com-pany has begun its preparations to organize and hold ‘Kuwait’s Third International Energy and Petrochemi-cals Conference and Fair 2009’ from October 6-8 at the International Fair Grounds, Mishref.The prestigious event will be patron-ized by H.H. the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jabir Al-Sabah, and attended by the Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah.Speaking about the event, Dhari Al-Aiban, the ‘International Kuwait Fair’ company’s Fairs Manager, said, “This fair represents one of the most presti-gious major events which the company has organized for the third consecutive year. The event is part of a larger strat-egy which aims to establish Kuwait’s name in international circles as a key oil country worldwide, which is always seeking to develop its oil sector and ful-fill its petroleum commitments towards the world’s countries as an OPEC member, of oil savings which positions it at the forefront of the high oil reserve countries.”He added: “We aren’t revealing any secrets when we state that Kuwait has taken large strides towards its petro-chemical industry development and its dealings with deep-rooted key interna-tional companies which specialize in this domain, especially in the light of

Sunday March 15, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah, the Oil Minister and KPC's Chairman, said, March 15, “Ku-wait does not support decreasing current production levels in consideration of the grave global economic situation.”He instructed OPEC members to main-tain the current agreed production lev-els, indicating that this would result in absorbing the global market surplus, hence stabilizing oil prices.In this regard, the 12 OPEC members’ stances varied on how to deal with the steep decline in crude prices recorded in the past few months from US $140 to around US $45.KSA, the world's largest oil producer/exporter, asked the other OPEC coun-tries to maintain their current produc-tion levels before taking any further steps.Oil prices recently recorded an increase, meaning that they remain over the US $40 level per barrel mark. However, this is still far from the price, which some OPEC countries aspire to reach, of US $75 per barrel.After facing a reduction in demand for the first time since 1983 for two consec-utive years, OPEC decided on a major decrease in its production near the end of last year, when it undertook to with-draw 4.2 million bpd from the market compared to the production level last September.According to independent estimates, it seems that OPEC members have imple-mented the reduction decided upon by 80%, displaying a commitment unprec-edented in OPEC's history.

During OPEC's ministers’ last meeting

Ahmad Al-Abdullah: Kuwait does not support

production decreaseSpeaking on the margins of the OPEC ministerial meeting held in Vienna on

KPC’s International Consultancy Board

discusses international markets’ status and energy alternatives

KPC’s International Consultancy Board and CEO, as well as the chairmen of a number of other oil companies, recent-

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ly held a meeting to discuss the global financial recession and its effects on the oil market.The board outlined the latest develop-ments in the international markets for the MDs, especially in the East Asian markets which are considered the best ones for Kuwait’s oil products. The subjects discussed at the meeting in-cluded the best features offered by these countries for foreign investment, as well as major energy alternatives and the capability to capitalize on them.The purpose of establishing the Inter-national Consultancy Board is to pro-vide expert advice and technical support as well as smoothing the way for avail-able enterprises worldwide through the members’ expertise and connections with international companies.This board’s formation came about in accordance with KPC’s strategic orien-tations aiming to achieve a prominent

position for the company in the inter-national oil industry alongside other major oil and economic corporations.The board’s members come from dif-ferent nationalities and various eco-nomic backgrounds, and include John Leoln, Lehman Brothers’ Senior Ad-viser on Economic Policies and ‘former director of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies,’ and Professor Robert Mabrow of ‘Antony University’.Among the other board members are Saad Al-Shuwaibh, KPC’s CEO, Mohammed As’ad Batan, Petrodine Manager of the Indian firm Tata and former chairman of the Indian Petro-leum Corporation, and Wethio Walthy, senior adviser to the Dow Chemical Company’s CEO. Former KPC CEO Hani Hussein, who is also a board member, was absent from the recent meeting due to being outside the country at the time.

Bourisli: KOTC’s profits soar to KD 15 million

Nabil Bourisli, KOTC’s MD and Chair-man, has revealed that the company’s profits for the financial year 2008-2009 rose to KD 15 million. He also indicated that the effects of the current global fi-nancial crisis on KOTC have been limited to date to increased tanker rental prices.He attributed KOTC’s ability to main-tain its high profit margin to the compa-ny’s safe operations and constant devel-opment process.“Scientific success and distinction foster the building of nations which urges us to motivate our young people to obtain excellent degrees in order to establish a developed and civilized society,” he said. “Industry and investment are the basis to rely on to support the state’s economic advancement. The principal element of building the economy of our Kuwaiti society springs from ambitious young people and groups wanting to build their country’s different domains.”The replacement of old tankers with new models is ongoing, he said, ex-plaining that the decommissioning of the old tankers is being carried out in tandem with the introduction of the new ones, which corresponds with the latest international standards, especially since international laws oblige com-panies not to continue operating old, single-hull old tankers starting from 2010. Furthermore, he said, detailed feasibility studies on building petro-chemicals tankers are almost concluded, which will ensure a breadth of variety in KOTC’s investments.

Nasir Al-Modif, KAFCO’s MD and Deputy Chairman, stated that: “In accordance with KAFCO’s prospec-tive vision, we fulfilled the prereq-uisites of the Environment Man-agement System (ISO 14001) and attained the international certificate from the Canadian Standards Au-thority. The company has also ac-quired Quality Management System (ISO 9001) accreditation during the last five years.”

KAFCO attains ISO 14001 CertificateAl-Modif added: “The general purpose of obtaining this international certificate is the application of the latest international standards in preserving the environ-ment, improving the employees’ culture to keep pace with international environ-ment management principles and paying more attention to the Kuwaiti environ-ment as an added value and a developed practice towards fulfilling the oil sector’s responsibilities to Kuwaiti society.”He explained further, saying, “An envi-ronment management system was put in place in the company as part of an environmental strategy incorporating a preset schedule to define all the activi-ties influencing the environment. It was linked with standard goals and programs to study their positive environmen-tal effects as a developed model of the companies functioning in the oil sector. Applying the environment management system with its international items is a significant step towards developing the company’s entire system for a better fu-ture.”

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NOC-IOC FORUM :Enhancing energy security through cooperation and partnership

KPC, in cooperation with the Oil Ministry, hosted the National and International Oil Companies’ Fo-rum at the JW Marriot Hotel from March 21-30. The prestigious event took place under the patronage of H.E. Sheikh Ahamd Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah, the Oil Minister, with the forum being held under the title, ‘Cooperation between international and national oil companies’. Repre-sentatives from 22 oil-producing/consuming nations participated in the forum, along with senior NOC/IOC officials and a number of ex-perts from leading financial compa-nies.

In his address, delivered on behalf of the oil minister, Nabil Khalf Bin

Salama said, “The current economic crisis and its results, represented by reduced global demand for oil and the commensurate decline in oil prices, are considered among the greatest challenges facing the oil/gas industry at present, along with other challenges which we hope will be the subject of serious discussions, including securing supplies and nec-essary investments, demand guar-antee, price fluctuations, enhanc-ing transparency, cost increases and lack of key personnel and qualified staff.”

He added: “Despite the fact that the creation of alternative energy resources is crucial to achieve sus-tainable development, continuous

investment to increase oil supplies is essential to secure future needs. Ku-wait realizes the significance of oil supply security, hence, it intends to invest billions of dollars in its future plans to expand locally and interna-tionally in the production and refin-ing sector.”

On the subject of oil prices, he elaborated: “Last year saw unprec-edented price fluctuations, which represent a major threat to consum-ers and producers’ interests alike and form an obstacle to securing the necessary continuous investments. For this reason, the governments of oil producing countries must work to provide an appropriate atmo-sphere to secure long-term invest-


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ments. Likewise, other parties must adopt integrated solutions to secure oil demand.”

Bin Salama indicated that Kuwait dedicated 100 million US $ in 2004 to researching and developing car-bon storage/isolation techniques, and in 2007 during the OPEC sum-mit, Kuwait, together with KSA, UAE and Qatar, contributed US $150 million for the purpose of research into the field of clean fuel production and environmental pro-tection. Reduction of carbon emis-sions is a key issue for the oil indus-try and it is essential that it provides environmentally friendly products, he added.

Bin Salama emphasized the impor-tance of shared responsibility be-tween consumers and producers to define future challenges and reduce market tension, also underlining the importance of collaboration be-tween governments, international authorities and companies to achieve energy security.

Mutual collaborationIn his address at the forum, H.E. Abdullah Al-Attiah, Qatar’s Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Industry, said, “The current global

crisis has had positive results repre-sented by the possibility of achieving collaboration and exchanging more information between national and international oil companies. The current situation has obliged all na-tional and international companies to unify their efforts as never before to enable them to pass through the hard times we are currently in: the crisis has also presented new chal-lenges for the energy sector like fi-nancing necessary projects in the technical and infra structure areas; the effect of canceling or postpon-ing these enterprises today would result in immense damage to the oil sector in the future.”

With regard to the role of national companies in the international oil industry, Al-Attiah said, “It is well-known that the level of hydrocarbon substances production by national oil companies has increased com-pared to international oil compa-nies’ share.”

He asserted that relations between national and international compa-nies have always been distinguished

by fulfilling both parties’ interests and achieving benefits that would not have been possible without this collaboration.

Investment volumeMeanwhile, Noe Van Hulst, the International Energy Forum Sec-retary General said in his speech at the conference, “The volume of investment needed by the interna-tional oil industry is estimated at US $12 thousand billion till the end of 2030; that is, around US $500 bil-lion per year.”

He added that current price levels could not, under any circumstances, support the level of investment nec-essary for oil producing countries to face increasing oil demand in the future, which could cause a supply deadlock in the long term.

Near the end of his speech, Hulst emphasized the importance of NOC-IOC collaboration in this framework to achieve the best in-terests of all parties and maintain equilibrium in the international oil market.

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Al-Mutairi: Certification achieved through sincere efforts

of KNPC’s depart-ments’ collaboration

and coordination

The Inspection & Corrosion (I&C) Division plays an im-portant role in ensuring the safe functioning of the MAB refinery’s static equipment, piping relief valves etc. To achieve these objectives, the I&C Division works with the refinery’s different depart-ments, such as the Operations and Technical Services sec-tions.

The I&C Division at Mina Abdullah Refinery recently ac-complished another achieve-ment to add to its record, the ISO:17020-1998 certificate. The I&C Division, MAB is the first body in the Middle East to have achieved this dis-

I&C Division MAB Certified To ISO 17020

First in Kuwait’s Oil Sector


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tinguished certification in the area of refining.

Muhammad Ghazi Al-Mu-tairi, MAB Refinery’s DMD, expressed his happiness at the I&C Division’s attainment of this certificate, saying, “This is the fruit of sustained work and efforts exerted by the I&C employees to reinforce the refinery’s capacity and its international stature.”

He added, “Inspection & Corrosion Division, MAB has been at the forefront of all the divisions, working tirelessly to improve its systems and tech-nical capabilities. The I&C Division’s aim is to promote the highest levels of engineer-ing inspection competence. Moreover, this division was the first among the KNPC refineries to have completed the first cycle of RBI work-shops for all new process units through the SHELL-MERIT Program launched in Year 2002 at the MAB Refinery. The I&C Division, MAB was also the first among Kuwait oil sector companies to get the coveted ISO:9001-2000 cer-tificate in December 2002.”

The DMD continued, “I&C Division MAB, is now proud to announce its success-ful “International Certifica-tion” to ISO:17020-1998 after passing rigorous assess-ment and auditing by M/s. UKAS (United Kingdom Ac-creditation Services), a UK government-authorized or-ganization. This certification emphasizes KNPC’s mission and vision: achieving superior

Eng. Al-Arada: Certificate proves I&C engineers’ competency

performance by adopting best practices and having compe-tent people performing I&C Activities.”

Regarding the concept of ac-credited evaluation, Al-Mu-tairi explained, “Obtaining an independent evaluation meets the specific requirements of the international organization in order to reduce risks. Ac-creditation by UKAS means that evaluators have been as-sessed against internationally recognized standards to in-spect and certify all the con-cerned departments’ systems

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ment using internationally recognized standards. The United Kingdom Accredita-tion Service is officially rec-ognized by the Department of Innovation, Universities & Skills (DIUS) to accredit organizations using interna-tionally agreed standards for testing, calibration, inspection and certification. Having a UKAS-accredited I&C Divi-sion, MAB ensures that you are making a confident and informed choice about the services’ quality.

Asked about the difference between ISO:9001-2000 and ISO:17020-1998, Eng. Musa’id Al-Arada, I&C MAB, Team Leader explained, “The ISO:9001-2000 evaluates, audits and certifies the man-

accredited evaluation and cer-tification. For instance:

• Minimize risks

Competent people ensuring that inspections are carried out, guaranteeing the perfor-mance for the period that the plant\equipment is endorsed.

• Maintain reputation:

Plants and equipment being properly inspected utilizing a competent inspection set-up will send a signal to local, as well as external, authorities about the professionalism and integrity of KNPC as an orga-nization.

• Reduce costs:

Equipment/plants inspected by competent people are more reliable and reduce downtime, as well as improving the on-stream factor.”

On the reasons that prompted KNPC to seek UKAS accredi-tation, Al-Mutairi revealed, “UKAS is the sole accredita-tion body recognized by the UK Government for assess-

and to affirm these systems’ effective performance capa-bilities. I&C MAB obtained this accreditation and then the ISO:17020-1998 after proving its ability to deal with work requirements and avoid risks through testing and in-specting its operations and systems. These risks are:

• Productfailure;

• Healthrisks;

• Company reputation(KNPC’s image with exter-nal parties);

• Legal and customer re-quirements (I&C Services to Operations, Manage-ment, etc.).”

He added, “Undoubtedly, there are several benefits for the I&C Division from this


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2. Contract CB/1246, was lined up with M/s. UKAS. The time line of this con-tract began in April 2008 and ended in August 2008.

3. Despite the fact that the majority of I&C engineers were busy with field work and block shutdowns of units 14, 18, 23 and 24 during June/July 2008, the I&C Division was able to acquire this certificate through the sincere efforts of its engineers.

4. UKAS assessors visited the I&C Division MAB from 10th to 12th June 2008 and carried out detailed as-sessment of I&C engineers, including field observations and reviews of QMS and related documentation.

5. Finally ISO:17020-1998 certificate was awarded on August 2008.

He explained the certifica-tion’s scope in more detail, saying, “The certificate com-mittee clearly indicated that the I&C Division, MAB Re-finery of KNPC (a KPC sub-sidiary) is accredited as a Type B body in accordance with the recognized international standard ISO:17020. This guarantees the division em-ployees’ competency and abil-ity to perform tests according to international standards. Through this certification, we can prove and rely on our en-gineers’ competence, profes-sionalism and ability to evolve continuously, which reflects positively on the quality of work performed.

- Authorization & super-vision.

- Feedback, development and training.

• Emphasis on Indepen-dence, impartiality, integ-rity and confidentiality.

• Procedures forequipment\plant inspection, reporting and certification.

• Policyonmonitoringcon-tractors’ performance.

He continued, “This achieve-ment came after following a number of steps. These can be outlined as follows:

1. All modifications and addi-tions to existing ISO:9001 QMS documents were conducted in-house to en-sure they complied with ISO:17020 requirements. No external consultant was used; in-house knowledge, talent and experience made it happen.

agement systems that are in force which maintain exist-ing business processes to ob-tain quality and consistency, whereas the ISO:17020-1998 evaluates, audits and certifies the people, facilities, techni-cal expertise, management systems and track record to undertake inspections profes-sionally and competently.”

He elaborated more on ISO 17020, saying, “This certifi-cate is given according to spe-cific criteria. These are:

• Quality management sys-tems, procedures and their auditing which also form part of ISO:9001-2000.

• Competencymanagement:

- Job descriptions of I&C personnel include com-petency requirements.

- Assessment of inspectors while they are carrying out Inspections.

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Kuwait’s experience in the fields of sustainable development and social responsibility is a role model to be followed at both the regional and international levels. For this reason, the Kuwaiti Em-bassy in London’s Cultural Cen-ter recently held its ‘First Cul-tural Forum’ under the theme, ‘We Care.’ The purpose of the event was to introduce Kuwait’s ministries’, authorities’ and oil companies’ social commitment

to civil societies and public chari-ties to the British public and the UK-based Arab community.The forum, held with KPC’s participation under the patron-age of Sheikh Nasir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, the Amiri Di-wan Affairs Minister, witnessed a significant turnout of members of the diplomatic, political and academic corps, as well as repre-sentatives of British and Kuwaiti public charities. KPC’s participa-

tion in and sponsorship of this forum helped to emphasize its concern for and intrinsic com-mitment to supporting all issues related to human wellbeing. The organizers gratefully acknowl-edged KPC’s subsidiaries’ sup-port of the efforts exerted by the Kuwaiti Cultural Office in Lon-don.On the subject of the forum and its theme, Bakhit Al-Rashidi, KNPC’s DMD of Planning and

Sustainable development is a KPC priority

Through an achievement-filled recordBakit

Al-Rashidi


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Local Marketing and KNPC’s Forum Repre-sentative, explained, “The Kuwaiti Cultural Forum was a media platform through which there was a detailed objective demonstration of KPC’s sus-tainable development strategies, including its comprehensive vi-sion to restructure Kuwait’s oil sector under the KPC umbrella. The forum officials ensured that they invited and brought togeth-er a large number of influential figures, both prestigious British individuals and prominent mem-bers of the Arab community in Britain, to provide the necessary success for the forum, through which Kuwait appeared at its best. The forum was a good op-portunity for Kuwaiti corpora-tions and their British peers to exchange expertise, which con-tributed to the enrichment of practices and cultures. Moreover, the forum consisted of a large number of cultural lectures and symposiums, as well as art dis-plays, through which attendees

could see the present and future of Kuwait from many perspectives on its history and heritage.”In his address delivered on behalf of KPC, he stated, “This forum is a good opportunity to acquaint others with Kuwait’s pioneering and effective experience in the field of social responsibility and sustainable development, a term first coined at the Earth Summit held in Brazil’s Rio De Janeiro in 1992, in which the presi-dents of more than 100 nations participated under the sponsor-ship of the UN. The primary aim of our participation was to confront Earth’s environmental challenges and to work on pro-tecting the Kuwaiti environment using many means; the most important of these is continu-ous or sustained economic and social development. The con-

ference brought forth the ‘Rio Declaration,’ which includes a long-term fundamental plan to achieve sustainable development all around the world in the 21st century. After a general detailed revision of the declaration by the UN General Assembly, a special international summit was held in South Africa in 2002 under the theme, ‘Sustainable Devel-opment,’ which came up with a clear-cut definition of the term, which humanity - especially the developing nations - attaches major importance to in order to exploit resources in a way that meets mankind’s needs while preserving the environment, not only for the present but also for the limitless future.”

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He continued: “Authorities and organizations seeking to achieve future growth marked by sta-bility and sustainability should consider the human dimension (social responsibility) to be part and parcel of future enterprises, not to mention protecting the environment, cultures and hu-man societies. Of course, human, social and environmental fac-tors have a prominent stature in KPC’s integrated strategy. This is best demonstrated by KPC’s prospective projects, such as the fourth refinery, through which the corporation ensured that it will fulfill two sustainable devel-opment goals:First: environment-friendly fuel production (low-sulfur content), as the new refinery has the benefit of up-to-the-minute economical technology whereby it dispenses with torches, unlike Kuwait’s ex-isting refineries designed in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Torches are no longer necessary; rather they are internationally undesirable in modern refineries. Currently, it is not permissible to deal with oils and petroleum unsafely.Second: developing better HR systems and giving the opportu-

nity to Kuwaiti people to work on the project, as well as giving them the chance to work indi-rectly through service projects which accompany major projects such as the refineries.The KPC project’s role is not confined to noting human and environmental aspects in internal enterprises. Rather, this effect also extends to projects being carried out outside Kuwait, like Vietnam’s refinery where KPC ensured that it provided the same environmental and human output.”As for the basis of sustainable de-velopment, Al-Rashidi indicated that this rests on a number of el-ements, including:• “Linkingsustainabledevelop-

ment and equality;• Responsiblenaturalresources

investment in line with a high-level environment protection plan, and

• Internationalcollaborationtoadvance sustainable develop-ment.

• Moreover, developed coun-tries should assume their responsibilities towards de-veloping ones, requiring indi-viduals and nations to change their behavior patterns and life practices.

In addition to these require-ments, there is continuous growth in social development resources, environmental pro-tection, combating poverty and social injustice, urging wealthy nations to contribute aid to de-veloping countries in order to enhance their resources and help in their development, includ-ing taking action to prevent de-sertification combating damage to their environment and safe-guarding it, investing in educa-tion, working to improve the

climate, tackling global warm-ing and fulfilling their economic roles without damaging their operational environments. On this basis, attaching importance to human and environmental aspects in projects that rely on natural wealth is a duty and not just a voluntary act.”On the subject of detailing KPC’s strategy at the forum, Al-Rashidi said: “KPC and its subsidiaries are an inseparable part of the inter-national oil industry, and Kuwait is a main energy producer which the world relies on. Thus, the importance of detailing KPC’s plans and strategies to ensure oil supply to the world’s markets is undisputable. Moreover, the development of Kuwait’s oil in-dustry and its dependability in dealing with its customers from different continents is one of the outstanding images and most prominent features of Kuwait at the international level. Hence, outlining KPC strategy before the British audience and a num-ber of experts was beneficial and was warmly welcomed by the par-ticipants. At the forum, we pre-sented a working paper explain-ing the structure of Kuwait’s oil sector and describing KPC and its subsidiaries’ human role and their great contributions to the development process in Kuwait, as well as their achievements in the field of social responsibility. The role of KPC and the oil sec-tor companies is not restricted solely to maximizing their dif-ferent operations’ economic out-put, but also extends to partici-pating in services to society and development and contributing to civil society authorities and char-itable activities. This is achieved through:1. presenting direct financial

support to non-profit organi-


16

zations, charities and special-needs societies, and

2. by sponsoring these bodies’ activities despite the fact that most of Kuwait’s non-profit societies provide their hu-manitarian services abroad.

The forum was also an opportu-nity to communicate with these societies and to inform people of their latest projects and re-quirements. The working paper also covered major projects that are being or will be carried out by KPC’s subsidiaries over the next two decades, with a focus on KPC’s integrated strategy, ac-cording to a scope that confirms its international role.”

Local MarketingWith regard to KNPC’s Local Marketing sector, Al-Rashidi said, “KNPC is KPC’s refin-ing and gas manufacturing arm. Currently, it manufactures more than 40% of Kuwait’s oil wealth. It is also responsible for fulfill-ing the local market’s needs for different oil products, from gas to the liquid fuel distributed to the Ministry of Electricity and Water’s power stations. At pres-ent, KNPC owns two centers for distributing oil products, namely, Sabhan and Al-Ahmadi. The lat-ter was built after the 1991 Lib-eration and will cover Kuwait’s needs until 2015. There is a plan to construct a third center in the north of Kuwait in the coming period.”He added, “KNPC is working to develop this industry from a strategic vantage point, both quantitatively and qualitatively, through planning projects. These aim to increase refining capac-ity and improve the products in order to raise their competitive edge on the global market. In this field, there is a biofuel en-

terprise, which aims to develop Al-Ahmadi/Abdullah Ports Re-fineries, the new refinery project, the fourth line project that aims to increase LPG production, and finalization of the construction/rehabilitation project of the two oil exportation ports in Al-Ah-madi Port Refinery. In the field of mutual cooperation, KNPC, along with PIC, instituted the Aromatics Complex enterprise, which will start production in June 2010, with a percentage of 40% going to each of those com-panies and 20% going to the pri-vate sector.”In relation to the nature of the work performed by KNPC’s Marketing Sector, he explained, “The Local Marketing Depart-ment is responsible for providing the local market with different kinds of fuel, be it for individuals or companies especially automo-bile variant fuels, diesel, kerosene and other oil derivatives. Since KNPC assumed this responsibil-ity in 1961, it has up until the present day displayed high lev-els of competence in providing a stable sufficient supply for the local market, in addition to 119 fuel stations throughout Kuwait, which supply citizens’ and resi-dents’ fuel needs easily. At the same time, the company also produces lubricants in a plant located in Al-Shuwaiba. Fur-thermore, from the beginning of 2004, KNPC has implemented a program that aims to priva-tize the Local Marketing Sector, with the objective of creating new investment opportunities for the Kuwaiti private sector, and to gradually withdraw from working in this field. Indeed, the lubricants sector has been priva-tized. Thereafter, the property of 40 fuel stations was transferred to Al-Oula Company, a local contributory company. Al-Sour

Company was also established as a contributory company, owning another 40 stations. Currently, we are studying other options to privatize what is left of KNPC’s stations. Meanwhile, the Local Marketing Department is fulfill-ing the supervisory and technical management roles for the priva-tized stations, overseeing their quality as well as their safety con-ditions. KNPC is also their only fuel supplier.”Al-Rashidi explained that the privatization of these fuel sta-tions has had many benefits, in-cluding:• “Involving the private sector

in the oil industry and creat-ing investment opportunities for it;

• Establishing companies tomanage these stations, result-ing in an expansion of the investment base since all Ku-waitis have the right to own stocks in the new companies;

• Improvingtheserviceinthesestations through offering ad-ditional services which benefit the public and raise contribu-tors’ profitability;

• Providingworkopportunitiesfor young Kuwaitis; and

• PrivatizingthestationshelpedKNPC to devote itself to its main job, oil refining and gas liquefying, without being pre-occupied by other activities.”

17


In a few weeks, KPC will have entered a new era after conclud-ing the final stages of the Aro-matics Project in March 2009. This is the first time that PIC has taken on aromatics production; in this case, aromatics should definitely not be confused with perfume, being the petroleum derivatives ensuing from naphtha processing.

Last February saw the comple-tion of 98 percent of the project, aided by the latest construction and engineering technology and cutting edge manufacturing and technical systems. Moreover, almost all the storage facilities and support systems are now in place. The use of environmen-tally friendly processing units

guarantees maximum safety, security and production quality.

Through this enterprise, PIC is introducing a promising and innovative strategy in the petro-chemicals domain and is expected to process and manufacture 2,672 tons of naphtha provided by KPC refineries annually.

The treatment procedure will produce 822,000 tons of para-xylene and 396,000 tons of ben-zene. The exported paraxylene will be used in PTA and hence PET production to manufac-ture plastic bottles and synthetic fibers. PET also plays a major role in the manufacture of many

Aromatics Project fulfills KPC’s strategic objectives

Aiming to process and manufacture 2,672 million tons of heavy naphtha


18

other products used in every-day life. Furthermore, there is tremendous demand for these materials in many emerging mar-kets, particularly those in the Far East.

The benzene produced by this project will be used as material at another plant to produce sty-rene, which is used in isolating cork, filling materials and light bodies.

In connection with the Aromat-ics Enterprise, Ahmad Habib, Aromatics DMD commented: “The Aromatics Project will open the door to new enterprises like producing and refining pure terephthalic acid and dimethyl-terephthalate. The UOP Com-pany provided the processing technology for the aromatics plant and a UOP on site team is currently supervising the final stages of construction, conduct-ing pre-commissioning checks and preparing documentation for performance test runs.

PIC has signed a contract with EQUATE to assume responsibil-ity for the plant’s operation and maintenance. Italian firm Tech-nimont and Korean company

SK Engineering were behind the plant design and execution, with its operation team conducting the necessary performance tests after the units’ completion and handover. Preparations are cur-rently underway for the import of mixed-xylenes, an intermedi-ate which will facilitate the early startup of rear-end process units. Following a plant stabilization period, performance test runs are foreseen for around June ’09, while commercial production is expected to begin from July ’09 onwards.

The Aromatics Project will gen-erate several products to be used in KNPC refineries. These are:

1. 823,000 tons of light naphtha,

2. 190,000 tons of LPG, and

3. 49,000 tons of hydrogen.”

Environmental aspectsPrior to the project’s execution, a detailed environmental study was conducted into the possible adverse environmental effects which could result from it, such as emission and pollutant levels which could potentially affect air and subterranean water quality, as well as other issues.Several sensors have been situ-ated in various locations to gauge current pollution levels in order to enable staff to compare and contrast environmental condi-tions before and after the plant becomes operational.On the basis of the above fac-tors, the Aromatics Project is an industrial milestone in the State of Kuwait’s history. All of the exhaustive studies conducted into the project to date have found that it will be a highly profitable enterprise, especially since it:1. fulfills KPC’s strategic objec-

tives. 2. provides real work opportuni-

ties for young Kuwaitis, and 3. creates skilled and talented

young people capable of exe-cuting and managing similar prospective enterprises.

19


two ISO certificates in the environmental management field for two years running. Moreover, KNPC won the Arab Environment Ministers’ Prize 2008 and the King-dom of Saudi Arabia Envi-ronmental Management Prize 2007/2008.

‘KPC World’ met with Engi-neer Fahad Al-Dihani, KNPC HSE Manager and Wadha Al-Khatib, KNPC’s Environment Team Leader to shed further light on these recent accom-plishments.

KNPC plays a pivotal role in Kuwait’s oil sector executing some of the state’s major oil enterprises. For this reason, it has given the environmental aspect of its work a high pri-ority in a bid to protect the environment from refinery-re-sulting pollutants. It has also implemented many environ-mental programs, which re-duced the volume of contami-nants caused by its operations. This has qualified KNPC to attain an international stature, with the company acquiring

Al-Dihani: “KNPC is committed to KPC’s HSE standards.”

Eng. Fahad Al-DihaniHSE Manager


20

Al-Dihani said, “These prizes came as a natural consequence of the environment sector employees’ sustained efforts. The awards that KNPC re-cently won were the fruit of three studies conducted in 2007 and 2008. The first

accomplishment is the Arab Environment

Ministers’ Prize 2008, given

hired specialist solid waste disposal companies that work in line with the Environment Public Authority (EPA) regu-lations.”

He explained in further detail: “After exactly one year of the inauguration of this signifi-cant enterprise, KNPC invited fellow oil Kuwaiti companies, as well as many environmen-tal bodies - including the EPA - to gain further insight into it: this included a field visit to the processing unit’s location and a detailed overview of its mechanism.”

Turning to the other research topic, he said, “The other en-terprise was Al-Shuaiba refin-ery’s flare gas recovery unit which was executed back in January 2002. It saved more than 14 million square feet of gas, with the units recouping their construction cost after only six months of their opera-tional launch. Besides preserv-ing the environment, there are substantial returns achieved by restoring these gases through compressors and then reinject-ing them into the refinery-fu-eling network to reuse them. These successful results led to similar projects in both Al-Ahmadi and Abdullah ports’ refineries to recover flare gas.”

Asked about the participation preconditions, Eng. Al-Khatib explained, “This contest is held every two year to award the best studies and projects in the field of the “cleanest production”. The winner must achieve notable results in:

to the best scientific studies or applied environmental proj-ects in different oil fields. The research covered two topics; the first of these was the oil slough processing unit which was created to recover and re-cycle hydrocarbon materials in order to decrease the amount of solid pollutants in the tanks by 98% approximately.”

He added: “KNPC used to dispose of this waste n two pits located in Al-Shuaiba Indus-trial area until the processing unit project was carried out

in Abdullah Port Refinery. The high effectiveness

percentage of 98% en-sures high returns

for the company. Prior to this

project, we

Al-Khatib: “KNPC has approved an industrial scent management system in line with pioneering global corporations.”

21


• Preservingnaturalresourc-es and energy

• Limiting contaminationand contributing to sus-tained growth

• Developing products to de-crease their negative environ-mental impact throughout the product’s lifecycle, and

• Designing environment-friendly products.”

The contest participation pre-conditions can be briefly summarized in the follow-ing way:

• ProtectingtheArabnaturalenvironment and develop-ing its natural resources

• Securing a hygienic envi-ronment to improve living standards.

• Developing adequate Ara-bian technology to exploit the region’s traditional her-itage and foster innovation in safeguarding the envi-ronment and accomplish-ing sustained growth.”

• Environmental Manage-ment prize

environment or which can be applied in it

• Best practices in govern-ment bodies

• Bestpracticesintheprivatesector

• Bestpioneeringpracticesofpublic welfare societies that can be applied in the Arab world.

Regarding KNPC’s participa-tion in this contest, Al-Khatib commented, “KNPC partici-pated in this contest’s second session in 2004 after it received a letter from the Oil Ministry directing it to participate. We won second place after pre-senting a research paper en-titled ’KNPC Environmental Management System Applica-tion.’ In the third session, our participation stemmed from our concern to follow-up this distinct event.

Environmental informa-tion management

In connection with the en-vironmental information management system recently introduced by KNPC, Al-Di-hani commented: “This is a computerized system that de-pends on a set of programs to streamline environmental data processing. It also uses this data to recognize environmen-tal problems beforehand. For instance, the system provides emission-related data and con-tinuously evaluates it.”

Concerning KNPC’s compli-ance with environmental reg-ulations, he remarked: “There are two types of regulations.

This contest is organized by the Arab Growth Organiza-tion, part of the League of Arab States, and is awarded by K.S.A.

Its preconditions revolve around a set of goals, includ-ing the research’s \impact on health, financial growth, pro-tecting natural resources, eco-nomical competency, poverty eradication and securing in-comes.

Last year, around 100 stud-ies were submitted, with 15 of these researching best practic-es in government bodies. The studies may be carried out in one of the following fields:

• Environmental manage-ment, especially of the vari-ety pertaining to the Arab

We use a group of systems and programs

to streamline environmental data

processing


22

First, imperative regulations, which are set by the EPA: KNPC is a KPC subsidiary and is committed to applying KPC’s HSE standards. KNPC is also committed to interna-tional agreements signed by the State of Kuwait like the Basel Waste Transport agree-ment, the Montreal Protocol and the Stockholm Agree-ment. KNPC also issues regu-lar internal reports, as well as external ones, to the appro-priate bodies, e.g. the EPA. These clarify the results of monthly inspections of flares, air quality, industrial drainage and solid waste, in addition to environmental incidents if they occur. Secondly, there are optional regulations, which are the ISO 14001 standards. KNPC complies with these through applying the environ-mental management system, which was revised and tested by specialized international teams. KNPC acquired the environmental ISO certificate in 2005, which was recently renewed for another three years.

Directed accusationsAl-Khatib addressed accusa-tions directed at the oil com-panies regarding their en-vironmental practices: “Oil industries are one of the fac-tors affecting the environment. Thus, KNPC implemented an HSE system that includes 14 elements. Among these are: work procedures safety, train-ing, archiving, defining duties and responsibilities, occupa-tional health, emergency plans

and risks evaluation, as well as a significant environmental el-ement.”

“KNPC observed pollutants’ environmental influences in all its facilities and units,” he add-ed, “and found some of them to be simple, whereas others are rather complex. Simple influences can be treated by changing the nature of the work, whereas complex ones require high-capital enterpris-es to manage them. To con-trol these influences, KNPC established a number of plans and projects that are regularly revised by KNPC ISO 14001 supervisors and specialist in-ternational examiners. Fur-thermore, our environmental commitment and projects’ compliance with EPA stan-dards are regularly tested by KNPC senior management.”

He explained in more detail: “When it comes to environ-ment, KNPC deals with the utmost transparency: We send all our future plans/projects to the EPA to verify their com-pliance with its environmental standards and international treaties. One of our prominent achievements in this regard is Al-Shuaiba refinery flare gas processing unit. This project

aims to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions and further dem-onstrates our environmental commitment.”

Al-Khatib concluded: “Two years ago, KNPC approved a robust industrial scent man-agement system. Currently, KNPC uses high-end cameras to detect scent sources in its re-fineries and stores. Moreover, we are executing a number of improvement procedures and plans according to a preset schedule.”

Benefiting from gases is the

most important goal of the flare

gas recovery unit project

23


First: Oil productionOver the last decade, the Center focused its efforts on providing solutions for the difficulties facing the oil production industry allow-ing it to gain KOC’s trust to sign a comprehensive technical agree-ment. In 2004, this was renewed for the third time. Through this agreement, the Center is responsi-ble for managing KOC’s reservoir rocks main laboratory.

The Center conducted many re-search projects into the environ-mental effects of oil production and into finding solutions for the oil lakes created in 1990-1991.

The Center sought to use a set of techniques such as reservoir rock/fluid calibration, field water management and petroleum print techniques.

Throughout its contract with KOC, the Center executed many research projects, studies and tech-nical services (budget of KWD 7 million) which focused on the fol-lowing: :

1. Oil reservoir calibration

Researched petroleum reservoir rock analysis and reservoir oil prints as well as technical servic-es in the phase behavior field for many types of Kuwait oil. Since

1999, the Center has supervised KOC’s reservoir rocks main labo-ratory where rock routine descrip-tion studies are conducted.

2. Improving oil recovery rates

Focused on reservoir pressure processing including evaluating specifications and types of water for secondary production injec-tion and field units. Studies re-lated to the reinforced petroleum recovery technology in coopera-tion with Japan’s National Petro-leum Company (a reservoir scan study was completed as a part of a wider evaluation of oil production operations development).

3. Improving oil production ef-ficiency

Executed a number of projects to scan and define hydrogen sulphide resources and gauge its levels in Kuwaiti crude oil extracted from Burgan’s field. Also developed a method to discard chemically-processed water in the Al-Shamal field’s water injection project.

4. Tackling environmental problems in oil production op-erations

Environmental endeavors include providing data to evaluate the cur-rent environmental situation by preparing databases on chemical

Petroleum Research Center: valuable efforts and studiesThe Center’s research efforts comprise many studies in the oil production and refining fields, as well as petrochemical industries. The Center’s range of studies includes technical and production operations and environmental studies as well as the application of modern control system’s technology and biotechnology. Moreover, the center collaborates with international companies to develop innovative technologies. The most important oil field research projects and activities include:

materials, air residue emanating from company operation areas; and preparing a map on the at-mospheric corrosion in Kuwait. Also aimed to develop a technol-ogy to detect oil pollutants and to monitor them in the marine environment as well as subsurface soil. In addition created a probe to find soil paths of oil pollutants in the northern underground water fields.

Furthermore, it exerted efforts to create and evaluate technologies (used in oil spills) such as evaluat-ing biotechnology to cleanup oil polluted soil, composite-system bioremediation and soil process-ing using oil emulsions.

The results included reclamation and rehabilitation of the bottom of certain oil lakes in Burgan field, and establishing a processed soil park in Al-Ahmadi.

Studied several oil technologies for oil recovery through ionic col-lision and emergency recycling to process solid petroleum waste.


24

Moreover, it has performed a de-tailed study to evaluate the chal-lenge of desertification in KOC areas such as Al-Manakish, Al-Rawdatain and Burgan, and to de-velop an integrated system to pro-tect oil facilities. Suggested a cost effective environmentally-friendly system to control the movement of sand based on thorough field studies and the analysis of spacial/aerial pictures.

Second: Oil RefineryThe Center analyzed high sulfur content in Kuwaiti crude oil, es-pecially as desulphurization opera-tions form about 50% of Kuwait’s refinery operations. In this regard, the Center tackled environmental pollution and corrosion as well as developeding production efficien-cy and oil products.

Projects include these domains:

1. Developing and maximizing catalytic operations technology

Many studies focused on the most important catalytic operations used in Kuwait refineries such as desulphurizing oil waste (ARDS, H-Oil), defining catalytic material inhibition reasons in the hydrog-enous processing of oil waste and hydrogenous breakage process, factors affecting the precipitation’s formation, coal blemish impacts on used catalytic materials and desulphurizing gas oil to produce low sulphur diesel, as well as iden-tifying the reasons which hinder the fulfillment of this process.

Desulphurization development fo-cused on Kuwait’s ‘heavy crudes’ in cooperation with Japan’s Idemitsu company. Currently, the aim is to study the perfor-mance of hydrogenous process-ing of Kuwait heavy crude waste to produce low sulphur fuel oil in collaboration with Japan’s Energy Company. There is another joint research venture with the Russian Science Academy to develop a new

technology for an extensive waste refinery. The Center concluded a study on the desulphurization of gas/oil with biotechnology; it was able to condense and isolate bac-terial farms with desulphurization capabilities.

Overall, these studies have con-tributed to increasing the Center’s readiness to offer the necessary experience and technical abilities to provide the technical support required to reinforce the Kuwaiti refining industry.

2. Raising refining production efficiency:

Studies included the development of a comprehensive plan to inte-grate advanced control systems into the fuel mixing unit and re-fineries in Al-Ahmadi port refin-ery. Moreover, an evaluation took place regarding catalytic substanc-es used in the hydrogenous pro-cessing of the kerosene and diesel improvement unit in Al-Shuwaiba refinery as well as in the hydrog-enous processing unit of gas oil in Al-Ahamdi port refinery (to select the very best of them). The Center completed a hydrodynamic study of the catalytic materials used in the H-Oil operation to evaluate its suitability. It developed a system to manage operation data to im-prove its performance.

3. Improving oil products

Studies evaluated the use of fuel

oil in power plants at the Ministry of Water and Electricity. Recent field experiments confirmed the Center’s findings. Furthermore, evaluation took place of oxida-tion-resistant substances and ad-ditives, which improve diesel flu-idness produced in Al-Ahamdi refinery to pinpoint its proper in-jection amounts. Studies included the calibration and analysis of the chemical composition of kerosene, diesel derivatives and heavy petro-leum waste produced from differ-ent Kuwaiti oils.

4. Treatment of refinery envi-ronmental problems

Studies evaluated gas emission re-sources and developed a risk man-agement plan in Kuwait’s refiner-ies. Developed techniques to deal with solid waste to reactivate used catalytic materials resulting from hydrogenous processing, and test-ed the recycling emergence system to treat petroleum solid waste.

5. Evaluating production opera-tions problems

Studied corrosion losses for the refining industry. Some important studies (1) developed evaluation methods of carbon-½ molybde-num iron used in many refineries units; (2) analyzed metal inhibi-tion tests in the three oil refiner-ies; (3) studied corrosion and met-al splitting corrosion in sea water as well as the marine biota impact on it; and (4) materials accompa-nying hydrogen sulfide gas used in industrial applications to optimize its selection process.

25


Third: Petrochemicals Following 1990, the Center revived its research activities that support the petrochemical industry. Prior to that during 1980s, the Center developed a number of substances and their manufacturing process, and registered 12 patents in differ-ent petrochemical domains.

The Center’s research efforts in-clude:

1. Supporting KISR’s readiness to provide technical industry support

Direct activities included furnish-ing plastic materials calibration as well as testing and developing methods facilities. Work is under-way to develop a comprehensive database for Kuwait’s petrochemi-cals and plastic materials.

2. Developing improved petro-chemical products

(a) Developing a method to sta-bilize loose sand in petroleum wells; (b) developing polymer compounds to limit underground water flow in productive oil wells; (c) developing polyethylene covers that are biologically dissolvable to be used in agriculture and cas-ing; and (d) studying the impact of UV ray’s stabilizers and light-control additives on polyethylene specifications to adapt to Kuwait’s climate.

3. Solving petrochemical envi-ronmental problems

Evaluating air pollutants emitting from Al-Shuwaiba petrochemical plant and their effect on adjacent areas. Efforts are underway to gather data from Kuwait’s solid plastic wastes to evaluate their ca-pacity to be recycled.

Research and technical abilities

The Center’s activities are staffed by an elite team of scientists and specialists with PhD, Masters and Bachelor degrees in petrochemical and chemical engineering, chem-istry, geology, metals and biology.

The research team has accumu-lated direct experience of Kuwait’s petroleum industry/environment executing many projects, studies and consultations for the oil sector using the latest technology.

To achieve this goal, team mem-bers receive specialized trainings to add to their expertise through the Center’s relationships with key petroleum company’ research cen-ters. For instance, in the area of oil production, collaboration and the exchange of experience was conducted with Oil Plus, Japan National Oil Corporation, Core Lab, British Petroleum, Chevron, DB Robinson and HYCAL. In the field of Petroleum refining,

there was cooperation with the Japan Cooperation Center, the Petroleum Energy Center, Chev-ron (CLG), UOP, Idemitsu Kozan Corporation, Japan Energy Cor-poration, Nippon Oil Company, Shimidzu, Institute Francais du Petrol (IFP), the Danish company Halder Topsoe and Honeywell, as well as other companies. The most important fields of experience and specialties pertinent to the oil do-main are:

• Description and calibration ofoil and its by-products;

• Advanced analytical applica-tions of oil and its components;

• Petroleum-enhancedextractionand secondary production;

• Water injection technology inoil reservoirs;

• Reservoir water injection tech-nology;

• Reservoir rocks special\routinedescription;

• Oilreservoirfluidsphasebehav-ior;

• Evaluating,testingandanalyz-ing the performance of catalytic substances used in oil refineries with the focus on hydrogenous treatment operations;

• Developingandpreparingcata-lytic substances;

• Oil products development andadditives’ effect on their char-acteristics;

• Distributedcontrolsystemsap-plication and usage of modeling to maximize industrial opera-tions in oil production\refin-ing;

• Oil establishments corrosion\calcination, including evalua-tion and analysis of equipment used in refineries to define reasons for corrosion, means of mitigation and choosing the best metals\molds for such equipment.


26

• Polymers description\test andtreating plastic substances;

• Petrochemicalsandtheirappli-cations development;

• Oil pollution and the environ-mental effect of petroleum\pet-rochemical industrial activities as well as toxicity studies;

• Environmentalrisksevaluation;

• Biotechnology application intreating oil leakage and slough;

• Dealing with consumed cata-lytic substances and using them to reduce the resultant environ-mental pollution; and

• Water desalination and drain-age processing.

Experts in other domains such as energy conservation, construc-tion, remote sensing and coast engineering support the Center’s mission.

Research facilitiesThe oil industry in Kuwait is con-sidered one of the country’s most advanced industries on the basis of its technology since it is main-tained in the most up-to-date ways in its industrial establishments to maintain the highest level of com-petitiveness in the international markets. In view of the fact that the Center was created to serve as the oil sector’s research arm and that one of its primary roles is to provide a database to improve in-dustrial operations and the perfor-mance of facilities in the oil sector, it continues to use the best and latest technology in information gathering (especially since it is ri-valed by many other major compa-nies in this domain). During the last decade, the Center has sought to develop its relevant research fa-cilities with the latest laboratory equipment to enable it to provide meticulous scientific data for the oil sector, in order to contribute to providing solutions to its chal-lenges. Following are the most im-

portant facilities available to sup-port the Center’s activities in the oil domain:

1. Routine Calibration Labs (RCAL) and Special Calibra-tion Labs (SCAL) for oil reser-voir rock

2. Reservoir fluids phase behavior evaluation lab

3. Mobile field study labs

4. Evaluation lab for petroleum and its by-products

5. Catalytic substances prepara-tion, test and evaluation labs

6. Corrosion labs

7. Typical unit’s hall

8. Polymer preparation and cali-bration lab

9. Phase-2 building project: Pe-troleum Research and Studies Center.

The Center’s Al-Ahmadi location aimed to enhance the communica-tion channels between the Center and oil sector employees which re-sulted in increasing research proj-ects, technical services and consul-tations provided by the Center to oil sector companies.

To keep pace with the oil sector’s anticipated increase in research enterprises and technical service, the Center swiftly planned a Phase

2 building project adjacent to the current building. Phase 2 has 4 floors (7500 square meter approx.) containing labs, research facilities and several multi-purpose halls.

Coordination between the oil sector and KISR

Since the 1980s the oil sector be-gan to coordinate R&D as well as technical efforts with the Pe-troleum Research and Studies Center. The Center conducted a number of studies and research projects for the sector. Moreover, a number of sector representa-tives regularly participated in re-vising the Center’s strategic plans as well its most significant accom-plishments. During the past few years, the relationship deepened into a cooperative framework in-cluding:

• The Center’s participation inKPC efforts to develop a tech-nological strategy for the oil sector

• The formation of a researchand technology high com-mittee (between the Center and KOC) in 2002 to develop KOC’s technical plans through a cooperative contract

• Since2002,anumberofatech-nical secondary committees emerged to outline research plans to serve refining industry purposes

• An industrial consultancyboard is being developed to target the Center’s plans to serve Kuwait’s petrochemical sector. The board will include representatives from the petro-chemical sector, the industrial bank, and Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sci-ences.

The oil sector and the Center work together to develop Kuwaiti cadres through organizing inten-sive training courses, conferences, and specialized workshops.

27


KPC and its subsidiaries follow the portfolio method to man-age its risks; for this reason, the Enterprise Risk Management program has approved a unified system to identify, measure, handle, process and then detect the main risks, among other things. This system will support KPC management to make the

right decisions on the basis of identifying these risks through the detailed information which the program provides.

Most of the principal risks are under the control and the specialty of one or a group of subsidiaries or concerned business teams, so these will be the responsible parties for

these risks; they will be man-aged by the program through methodological steps clarified in the ERM policy and general framework.

ERM goalsThe ERM program forms part of KPC’s strategic orientations represented in developing the corporation’s methodology,

ERM System has more developed and comprehensive risk information


28

Badir Al-Shimaimri

general policies and joint oper-ations to manage all the risks facing it effectively and com-petently. Building on this, the ERM goals are represented by:•Supporting the growth of

KPC’s trading operations through performing opera-tions, taking the necessary steps and introducing the technology of risk manage-ment;

•Improving trade businessoutput through risk/return comparison;

•Increasingknowledgeofhowto detect opportunities and quickly identify their cur-rent/future risks;

•Increasing the chances ofsuccess for fulfilling KPC’s strategic plans.

•Reinforcing the confidencein KPC’s methodologies contributors to manage the risks;

•Optimum usage of capitalallocations which rest on KPC’s subsidiaries and busi-

ness teams’ risk manage-ment basis;

•Establishing a clear-cut sys-tem that clarifies the risk accountable side;

•Developing capabilities inorder to deliver a premier product and service for the customers, enabling KPC to keep pace with the interna-tionally competitive environ-ment;

•Improving capabilitiesthrough continuous moni-toring and detection of risks in all of KPC’s sectors, start-ing from the operational level and ending with the admin-istrative board; and

•Developing a common lan-guage that helps to under-stand the vast domain of risk.

The creation of the ERM came about through assigning the Risk Management Depart-ment with the task of con-ducting a study into the risks set surrounding the oil indus-try in light of the abrupt and fast-paced changes which it is

witnessing worldwide, not just in Kuwait. This is achieved through providing similar oper-ations to define the measure-ment of primary risks and their management, mitigation and reporting. It is also actualized through supporting the needs of the strategies established by KPC’s board, supporting the decision-making scope based on knowledge\information and defining areas connected with achieving optimum value.

The ERM program demanded that standards be set by which risks can be evaluated, as well as the definition of the organiza-tional analysis structure. KPC adopted a risk categorization system designed to comprehen-sively cover all types of risks, as follows:

•Operational risks: resultingfrom material infrastructure insufficiency (failure to pro-vide assets), risk control or risk infrastructure (opera-tions failure).

•Fundingrisks:ensuingfromside insolvency and deliver-ing commitment.

•Market risks: originatingfrom sudden supply/demand market changes or market price fluctuations.

•Legal risks: caused by con-tracts or other arrangements that cannot be put into effect through the available means.

•Strategic risks: stemmingfrom the corporation’s inabil-ity to coordinate or perform successful business strategy and also performance man-agement.

•Reputation risks: spring-ing from changes in public

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Iman Al-Ghraballi

opinion, which influence the achievement of profits or the attainment of capital.

•Environmental risks: issuingfrom not following federal, regional or local laws and regulations.

•Financialrisks:ensuingfrombusiness costs’ deviation from original estimates.

•Healthandsafetyrisks:aris-ing from lack of non-compli-ance or lack of health\safety procedures, policies or regu-lations implementation.

•Human resources risks:emerging as a result of inap-propriate\unqualified HR utilization.

•Technology risks- informa-tion systems risks: arising from insufficient I.T. sources or inappropriate use of avail-able resources, as well as risks coupled with technology changes management and technology execution fail-ure.

•Political risks: emanatingfrom international, regional or local governments’ pro-cedures or private interests groups.

•Organizational risks: result-ing from unexpected changes of organizational policy, as well as international, regional or local law.

•Modelandverification:risksarising from false assump-tions, incorrect data or inap-propriate application of a cer-tain model.

Adopting, approving and apply-ing the ERM policy:

The ERM policy was applied throughout KPC and its sub-

sidiaries after the CEO and MDs approved it back in 2006. From that time, KPC’s subsid-iaries have adopted the policy as is and developed it, provided it meets KPC’s main risk man-agement policy.

Subsidiaries’ ERM policies were revised by KPC’s Risk Management Department to ensure compliance with the program’s comprehensive tar-gets: KPC’s ERM policy and program require its work units and subsidiaries to adopt or change work procedures/prac-

tices to the limit that meets this general policy. Moreover, a subsidiary or a KPC work unit’s deviation from the gen-eral policy requires the CEO’s written approval.

The Risk Management Depart-ment organized practical work-shops for workers in KPC’s different sectors with the Mar-keting and Finance Sectors in the forefront. The workshops focused on the following:

•The risk management pro-gram’s readiness as far as the tools and implementation are concerned;

•Participants’education;

•IdentifyingtheInternationalMarketing Sector’s project capability and readiness;

•Deliveringlessonslearnedtoothers in the subsidiaries and separate work units; and

•IntroducingtheERMpilot-phase through a workshop, which will help in creating a mini model to be followed by the subsidiaries when apply-ing their own ERM projects.

After the end of the workshops and pilot-phase, which took about a year, the ERM program entered the critically important phase of application, which focused at the beginning on revising the risk register when the program was launched and considering the latest develop-ments which require that it be updated.As for the achievements accom-plished between the program’s roll-out and the launch of sec-ond phase, Badir Al-Shimaimri, the ERM Manager clarified: “The ERM program’s applica-tion brought about many ben-efits, including:•Providingaunifiedvisionfor

KPC’s leadership regarding the overall risks that the cor-poration is exposed to;

•Providing subsidiaries’ per-formance-nature related information in order to make decisions of the highest accu-racy and competency levels;

•Increasing operat ional,investment and marketing opportunities;

•OfferingtheopportunityforKPC’s upper management to fully supervise issues and risks in light of the different operational models;


30

•Presenting a probabilisticimage for threatening risks in different sectors; and

•Reaching the highest levelof controlling risks and their responsive methods.”

He added, “In 2008, the ERM program reached several mile-stones, including:

•CompletingtheERMaware-ness campaign in KPC in June 2008;

•LaunchingKPC/subsidiariesERM information system in November 2008;

•Completingthefinancialandadministrative affairs employ-ees’ training on applying the ERM approved mechanism. Currently, employees in other KPC departments are being rigorously trained to use this mechanism so they can apply the program;

•ExecutingtheERMprogramin OSSC; and

•Defining two main risks,namely ‘LPG Plant Break-down’ and ‘Biofuel Project Delay Effects’ and presenting the study results to KPC’s Risk Management High Committee.”

In connection with the remain-ing stages, he clarified that a number of plans will be exe-cuted between 2009 and 2010 including:

•Planning to treat and miti-gate targeted risks exceed-ing the endurance level (risk index) no later than April 2010; and

•InApril2009,KPC’sInter-national Marketing Sector will have completed a quan-

titative analysis study for two risk indexes, namely ‘Supply Stoppage’ and ‘Oil Prices Volatility.’

In this regard, Iman Al-Ghra-balli, ERM Team leader, clari-fied: “This April will see KPC’s subsidiaries complete their ERM projects. Then, full-scale ERM system application will be established after a toilsome journey and tremendous chal-lenge.”

She asserted: “It is easy to set idealistic concepts and inter-nationally renowned meth-odologies in light of the real challenge that faces the work team to maintain the level of success achieved. Last Febru-ary witnessed the first meeting of KPC’s subsidiaries’ ERM units, which sought to:

- Share and integrate ERM applications;

- Report and view ERM’s progress in KPC and its sub-sidiaries;

- Discuss ERM best prac-tices and the possibilities for their application within the Kuwaiti oil sector; and

- Highlight the key risks faced and initiatives taken to KPC’s Risk Management commit-tee.

A monthly program of meetings is set to follow-up this collabo-ration among different manage-ment teams, which establishes an interactive methodological system basis for the wider ERM community in KPC.

She added: “We hope the future will witness growth in initiatives pertaining to ERM, to include joint ventures, and to fulfill KPC’s ERM vision and mission, which states: “To create an ERM Excellency Forum that actively supports and assists various KPC proj-ects in order to develop and apply best practices’ operations procedures which will guaran-tee KPC’ regional leadership in the ERM domain.”

Capabilities development a top priority to achieve

internationally competitive environment

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Our responsibilities are great and we do not rest from pro-viding technical support for anyone in the state’s marine & oil sectors.

KOC’s Operations and Marine Services teams shoulder sig-nificant responsibilities in pro-viding services for the marine operations. These consist, among other things, of receiv-ing daily list of names/speci-fications of tankers arriving

in Kuwait, ensuring that they dock at the correct KPC berths, carrying out the preparations enabling them to enter regional waters and performing freight-ing operations. This is achieved through employing qualified engineers, captains and marine technicians and supporting marine units around the clock.

In addition, the aforementioned teams also handle numerous other operations and activities,

including the maintenance of navigational signs, ports, quays and the tugboats which assist tankers coming into port.

The Operations and Marine Services teams also administer other duties no less important than ports operations and argu-ably more critical overall, in protecting Kuwaiti waters and shores through helping to pre-vent and combat marine pollu-tion, working assiduously to

Hassan Al-Bairami: Operations and Marine Services teams’ services lead the way

Preserving the environment is a common responsibility and Operations and Marine Services teams have the largest share


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avoid marine pollution from oil spills and to minimize adverse effects from any accidental inci-dents which occur.

The two teams represent KOC in the implementation of the National Plan to Protect the Marine Environment, along with other bodies; these are the Ministry of Communica-tions, the Environment Public Authority (EPA), the Coast Guard, the Kuwait Fire Ser-vices Directorate and Kuwait Municipality.

KOC’s anti-pollution team coordinates with the EPA and the other bodies in contribut-ing to the implementation of this vital plan, with each taking preventative measures accord-ing to their area of specialty, as well as conducting regular drills and performing anti-pol-lution operations, individual and collective drills and regular tests.

In light of this, the teams’ pri-orities are to combat marine oil pollution as it happens and iden-tify the party causing it. After that, they present a detailed list

of the costs for cleaning up the pollution to those involved and to the courts for prosecution purposes.

As for the procedures involved in dealing with contamination from unknown sources, Hassan Ja’far Al-Bairami, the Marine Services Team Leader with KOC’s Marine and Exporta-tion Operations Group, said: “In case of being informed of oil pollution, whether from known or unknown sources, our top priority is to protect

Kuwait’s waters, coastline and marine environment, especially in areas known by us to be criti-cally important. The work team immediately takes the neces-sary measures to contain the pollution. At the same time, a sample is taken and sent to the lab to identify the pollution material type. Besides doing this, the team scans and stud-ies the contamination site, ship traffic/type, as well as wind and marine currents. Through our information, we report to Kuwait’s Communications Ministry and according to the examination and the marine scanner results, we detect the pollution source and execute the appropriate procedures by ensuring that the polluter pays the costs of the clean-up opera-tion and the fine legally set by the EPA.

If the pollution source is not detected (when it comes from remote destinations, say), then KOC bears the contamination costs as long as it is located in the mid area.

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KOC’s Marine Operations Team owns equipment that can deal with the pollution caused by a spill from 600 barrels of crude oil at one time. In the case of the size of a pollution incident exceeding this amount, Kuwait’s National Plan to Pro-tect the Marine Environment is activated using the concerted efforts of all its members.

To contribute to performance development regarding marine operations, export and other support activities, the Opera-tions and Marine Services teams are responsible for the following duties:

•Providing marine consulta-tion for export operations employees in KPC’s subsid-iaries in a bid to contribute to their oil products expor-tation development. The team is also responsible for establishing new harbors and docks, as well as moderniz-ing and upgrading existing port facilities.

•Transportingoil companies’personnel and equipment

from various points inland to different export ports and in-sea oil installations.

•Offering technical adviceon KOC’s exportation port expansion projects and fol-lowing up on this; building or buying new tugboats, ves-sels and anti-pollution fleet\equipment.

•Tankers’ anchorage anddeparture to\from all ports and quays after leaving KPC refineries, as well as coor-

dinating with refineries’ documentation divisions to prepare data for all visiting tankers and gathering and publishing the monthly\annually statistics.

•MaintainingallSinglePointMooring (SPM) buoys and all sizes of boats and assur-ing their compliance with international standardization regulations and Communi-cations Ministry conditions.

•Performing other marineoperations necessary to pre-pare ports, marine lanes and signs to receive ships, ves-sels and other marine equip-ment. In this field, the Oper-ations and Marine Services teams work on developing and upgrading marine signs by linking them via a satel-lite network. This system sends signals to the monitor-ing center in case any sign is damaged.”

As for KOC’s Marine Opera-tions Team units, Al-Bairami explained: “The team con-stantly works so that its units’ equipment, consisting of


34

gigantic fire pumps and water cannons, are fully prepared in case of the outbreak of a fire. Specifications also include oil dissolving sprays required in clean-up operations. One of the team’s proudest achievements is the establishment of a specifi-cations unit able to deal with pollution in shallow waters. It is officially registered with the Communications Minis-try under the name ‘Himah’ (determination), which tallies with the theme of the team’s resolve to improve its equip-ment.

Development is not confined to marine units, however, but also extends to refurbishing tugboats and the ropes used to protect the bows of boats from being damaged by hit-ting the dock side. These erode over time which may make the ships vulnerable to collisions with quays or tankers during anchorage\departure assistance. Thus, the Marine Team mem-bers did the job, which requires talent in the use of ropes. With this, our young people added a new achievement to the Marine Team, which takes on many responsibilities, for instance, playing the contractor’s role in some of KNPC operations: KOC’s Marine Team signed an agreement with those con-cerned at KNPC to combat any pollution that could ensue from KNPC’s operations. In addition, the team conducts virtual pollution drills to test its pollution-fighting capabili-ties and promptness. At the same time, the Marine Team provides units to transport KNPC employees to their job

locations. This agreement with KNPC is renewed every five years. Marine teams take on this role for many reasons, the primary one being that it is in the oil sector’s best interests, which surely means ultimately that it contributes to meeting Kuwait’s best interests.”

He added, “In addition, Marine Teams have a vital volun-tary role to conserve Kuwait’s marine reserves: KOC recently inaugurated its marine reserve, the largest in the Middle East. KOC’s voluntary divers exerted tremendous efforts to make this mission a success. Furthermore, the marine teams’ technicians contributed to the preparation of the reserve location.”

He concluded: “As for the proj-ect for expanding KOC’s quays and export ports, which has now

reached its final stages, KOC is about to launch the operation of the crude oil export ports project: upon completion, there will be four Single Point Moor-ing (SPM) buoys together with four submerged pipelines (at a depth of 56 inches), as well as two heavy fuel supply lines and their supplementary tank-ers/pumps with the help of the Major Projects Group and its export teams. In the near future, the Marine Services team will initiate several proj-ects, namely

a. Modernizing the current fleet,

b. Building new tugboats and vessels,

c. Establishing a new small boat port in Abu Hulaifa, and

d. Expanding current anchor-age in Al-Ahmadi Southern Port and its accompanying marine maintenance work-shops and administrative offices, as well as following-up other supporting opera-tional contracts upon its completion.

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Bioremediation : the ideal method of treatment to clean contaminated soil

In Part 1 of this article cov-ered in an earlier issue of KPC WORLD magazine (46), we reviewed different treatment processes of bioremediation. In Part 2, we will cover KPC subsidiary success stories using bioremediation to treat con-taminated soil.

Bioremediation involves a series of natural biological,

chemical and physical process-es in the soil to treat organic contaminants. Treatment of contaminated soil through re-mediation can play an impor-tant role in transforming such contaminants, for example, land treatment is the basis for the design and operation of soil bioremediation technolo-gies used at a large number

of waste sites that need to be cleaned.

This particular paper will show that physical/chemical reme-diation technologies have been identified as the best model for contaminated soil especially when the soil contains more than 40% oil to less than 5% - the level at which bioremedia-tion becomes possible.

Before Bioremiedation Project


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Fatima Al-ShattiWaste Management

Bioremediation uses micro-organisms (fungi or bacteria) to decompose toxic pollutants into less harmful compounds. In this article, bioremediation is used in the context of pro-moting the degradation of pe-troleum hydrocarbons (oil).

Bioremediation treatment technologies are among the most practical, cost-effective methods to manage explora-tion and production wastes from drilling mud, contami-nated soil with oil, bottom tank sludge, oil lakes, and spill cleanup. Biological treatment is a natural process whereby

microbes change and break down petroleum hydrocarbons into other substances. These resulting products (carbon dioxide, water, and biomass) can be partially oxidized with biologically inert by-products. Bacteria which consume pe-troleum are known as hydro-carbon oxidizers because they oxidize compounds to bring about degradation (Chianelli et al. 1991).

Bioremediation optimizes biodegradation; this process of acceleration can be accom-plished with two forms of technology:

1. Fertilizing (adding nutri-ents); and/or

2. Seeding (adding microbes)

Additions such as these are necessary to overcome certain environmental factors that may limit or prevent biodeg-radation.

Most common biological treatment technologies used in the petroleum sector

Bioremediation is useful for many types of organic wastes, and it is a cost-effective natu-ral process. Contaminants that are targeted for bioremedia-tion treatment are sites filled with high concentrations of volatile organic compounds and fuels.

Many references to environ-mental damage from such

contaminated sites exist, however, few systematic surveys and impact as-sessments have been carried out. There-fore, the incidents of soil contamina-tion related to the production, trans-portation and stor-age of petroleum re-main high because of

growing demand for petroleum products.

With the continued in-crease of petroleum prod-

ucts in the environment, there is an enormous interest in using cost-effective envi-ronmentally friendly biore-mediation techniques to clean contaminated soil.After Bioremediation Project

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different sites depending on the contamination level.

Four microbial strains were selected to use in the biore-mediation process: three sites were selected. A cocktail of four microbial strains were designated as KT-Oilzapper. In site A (before applying KT-Oilzapper), the soil was con-taminated with 46,000ppm of TPHs whereas after apply-ing KT-Oilzapper, the biore-mediation process reduced contamination to 900ppm (0.09%) within two months, which lies within interna-tional limits. In site B, the soil was contaminated with 63,500ppm, and the biore-mediation process reduced contamination to 1000ppm (0.1%) within two months. In site C, soil was contami-nated with 45,000ppm and contamination was reduced to 900ppm (0.09%).

The pilot program’s objectives were to remove oil contami-nation from the deep surface without disturbing the site itself causing more environ-mental stress. Once microbes and nutrients were injected into the contaminated site, and within 45 days the site was transformed ready for environmental approval. The toxicity study took place from January through June 2005 which included observing the growth of vegetation in the area.

Since the 1980s, Kuwait Na-tional Petroleum Company (KNPC) disposed of waste

Kuwait’s oil sector represent-ed by subsidiaries such as Ku-wait Oil Company (KOC) and Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) has first-hand experience of the use of bioremediation in their own contaminated areas.

Since the Gulf war more than 700 oil wells with millions of barrels of crude oil created one of the world’s greatest environmental disasters. In outlying desert areas, oil lakes covered a wide area (total es-timate 49 square km) across more than 500 different loca-tions. KOC has recovered 22.5 million barrels of spilled crude while 22.7 million square m. of contaminated soil remain affecting underground water.

This has been a critical issue in Kuwait. Bioremediation of massive quantities of contami-nated soil has helped restore the surface biota (all organ-isms in a given area) and pro-tect the underground water systems.

Since 1993, the Kuwait In-stitute of Scientific Research (KISR) has undertaken a joint bioremediation research project with Japan Petroleum Energy (PCE) to develop ef-fective bioremediation tech-nologies using field testing to develop an action plan for all contaminated soil in the State of Kuwait.

In October 2004, KOC un-dertook a bioremediation pi-lot focused on a contaminated wet tar sludge site near GC-2 Gathering Center in Burgan,

Site after 2 months of Bioremediation

Site before Bioremediation

South Kuwait oil field. Since the invasion in 1991, this site was contaminated with paraf-finic asphaltic crude oil. A large part of the desert in KOC’s oil field was contaminated with crude oil. Therefore, the PAHs - highly toxic in this contaminated site - have be-come even more with the high concentration of toxic hydro-carbons and the site’s inability to function ecologically.

Samples were analyzed and screened with gas chromatog-raphy to obtain information about concentration levels, and composition. Screening results revealed that APHs are natural petroleum at GC-2. In KOC’s oil field, an area 70m x 70m, contaminated with heavy crude oil, was selected for bioremediation demon-stration. Oil contamination at site was not uniform; in one area liquid oil floated on the surface, however, at other ar-eas a thick layer of liquid tar was discovered. Because of the heterogeneous nature of the contaminated site, the area was divided into three


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Key Benefits of Oil Sludge Management

•Saved more than 40,000m3 of oil sludge (conserv-ing natural resources) by using sludge treatment fa-cilities

•Reduced the risk ofgroundwater contamina-tion in the location area of the oil sludge pits them-selves

•Helpedcleanthepitsmak-ing the area available for other projects

•Usedrecoveredoil

Bioremediation: the future

Not only is bioremediation used to clean up oil spills but also the same basic scientific approach (discussed in part I) can remediate many con-taminated environmental sites. For example, the EPA claims that bioremediation is a technology with enormous future potential. Bioremedi-ation is similar to wastewater treatment in that it relies on microbes to clean the wa-ter for us, and as a result, as long as they are given a fa-vorable environment, they do ‘a pretty good job’.

Relatively new areas of bio-remediation have the po-tential to save money, work with ecologically sound principles and methods, destroy contaminates and permit waste treatment on site. The application of bioremediation will be an important aspect of waste management now, and in the future in soil reclama-tion, oil spill cleanup, oil slick dispersants and hydro-carbon bioremediation.

Significant and intrinsic bio-degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons take place nat-urally with the addition of enough nutrients in contam-inated areas. Bioremediation is an ideal method of treat-ment to clean contaminated soil: in fact, it is one of the best effective methods rec-ommended by USEPA.

Bioremediation continues to be successful in cleaning up pollutants including crude oil, gasoline, pesticides, sewage and chlorinated sol-vents (used in cleaning sup-plies). Comparatively speak-ing, bioremediation benefits include lower costs with less disruption of contaminated environments.

Before Bioremiedation Project After Bioremediation Project

oil sludge from refinery op-erations in large earthen pits, and over the years, these pits (full of sludge) began to cause more environmental damage. Eventually this method was discontinued and replaced by an environmentally friendly method. KNPC developed a recovery strategy involv-ing the oil from sludge help-ing to reduce the waste. The technology was used in three phases:

•Phase 1 centrifugationhelped to separate oil from water and solids;

•Phase2usedthesamewa-ter throughout the second centrifugation to remove more of the oil and residu-al solids from the water.

•Phase 3 (bioremediation)used a combination of techniques and technolo-gies to treat the soil by anaerobic thermal absorp-tion. The remediation of the existing sludge pit tak-en from different sides of the pit (dimensions: 180m (long) x 175m (wide) and 8m (deep) indicates that the top layer of free oil (2.1 meters thick) and water lay-ers (5.1 meters deep) were ready to begin the process of bioremediation.

After two months, soil from both pits was cleaner and could be used for other pur-poses. This process helped reduce odor as well as emis-sions from the pits; it also eliminated community health and safety hazards.

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KPC Strives to Becomea Regional Leader in Health, Safety and Environment

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P.O. Box: 26565, 13126 Safat, Kuwait - Fax: 2499 4991Email: [email protected] - www.kpc.com.kw

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