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The Ministry of Oil organizes a seminar entitled “Kuwait Environmental Rehabilitation Programme”, the largest in the world

14-11-2023

- Sheikha Tamader Khaled Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah: Projects to rehabilitate contaminated soil are an important step to preserve the Kuwaiti environment. - Dr. Muhammad Mubarak Al-Qahtani: Signing 8 contracts to dig, transport and treat 21.34 million cubic meters of contaminated soil distributed in the north and south of Kuwait. - More than a thousand pieces of unexploded ordnance in projects north and south of Kuwait for drilling, transportation and processing from January 2022 until October 2023. - M. Muthanna Al-Mumen: Land re-greening projects aim to plant approximately 7,403,000 desert plants and more than 25,000 wild trees. Today, Tuesday, November 14, 2023, the Ministry of Oil organized a seminar entitled (Kuwait Environmental Rehabilitation Program (KERP), which is the largest environmental rehabilitation project in the world to treat contaminated soil as a result of the brutal Iraqi invasion, during which it hosted the head of the Soil Projects Team -1 at the Kuwait Oil Company, Dr. Eng. Muhammad Mubarak Al-Qahtani, and Head of the Soil Rehabilitation Projects II Team at Kuwait Oil Company Eng. Muthanna Ali Al-Moumen, and was attended by technical affairs employees, guests from the Environment Public Authority, the Ministry of Electricity, Water, and Renewable Energy, the Scientific Research Institute, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), and media professionals. At the beginning of the discussion session, the Director of Public Relations and Information at the Ministry of Oil, Sheikha Tamadur Khaled Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, welcomed the audience to learn about the efforts of the State of Kuwait in treating polluted soil as a result of the brutal Iraqi invasion of the country, and said that soil rehabilitation projects are an important step to preserve the Kuwaiti environment, as The eight contracts concluded by the Kuwait Oil Company in the years 2021-2023 aim to rehabilitate and rehabilitate approximately 21.34 million cubic meters of soil contaminated by the oil spill distributed in northern and southern Kuwait. Sheikha Tamader Khaled Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah praised the efforts made by the Kuwait Oil Company and all government agencies in treating oil-contaminated soil, as these projects will work to restore the lands’ ecosystem, preserve the environment and restore vegetation. 700 wells For his part, the head of the Soil Rehabilitation Projects Team-1 at the Kuwait Oil Company, Dr. Eng. Muhammad Mubarak Al-Qahtani, Kuwait Program for Soil Rehabilitation and Contaminated Soil Treatment Projects, where he said that the Iraqi army, after the liberation war in 1991, set fire to more than 700 oil wells in Kuwait, which led to the appearance of a black cloud and caused the largest environmental disaster in human history. Al-Qahtani said that the areas of contaminated soil treatment projects in Kuwait are distributed among the areas of northern Kuwait for excavation, transportation, and treatment (Area 1), northern Kuwait for excavation, transportation, and treatment (Area 2), southern Kuwait for excavation, transportation, and treatment (Area 1), and southern Kuwait for excavation, transportation, and treatment (Area 2), South Kuwait for Drilling, Transport and Processing (Area 3), and South Kuwait for Drilling, Transport and Processing Phase 2 (Area A, B, C), Pointing out that the eight contracts aim to excavate, transport and treat 21.33 million cubic meters of contaminated soil, distributed in northern Kuwait for excavation, transport and treatment in two areas with a volume of 4 million cubic metres, and southern Kuwait for excavation, transport and treatment in 6 areas with a volume of 17.34 million cubic metres. Al-Qahtani stated that the initial work that was carried out in cleaning the soil focused on studies of ways to improve the treatment of contaminated soil, and exploratory work for the remnants of the brutal Iraqi invasion, which included unexploded ordnance, as well as survey work, determining the quantities of contaminated soil and oil lakes, drilling and transportation works, and then determining the treatment areas. Primary (separation) of contaminated soil. Regarding soil treatment techniques with biological treatment, Al-Qahtani said that biological/biological treatment lies in exploiting the ability of some microorganisms to decompose components of petroleum hydrocarbons. This process requires a sustainable source of nutrients, water, and electron acceptors such as oxygen to decompose petroleum hydrocarbons, indicating that there are other global technologies such as Soil washing, which depends on water and solvents, in addition to raising the temperature to separate the components in the contaminated soil. As for the soil that cannot be treated, waste landfills are built. He stated that there are other service advisory projects related to environmental monitoring work signed by the Kuwait Oil Company with the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, as the project aims to evaluate the success of revegetation efforts in restoring the environmental performance of animals, plants, soil microbes and entire ecosystems by comparing basic data related to the components of the system. Environmental changes over time. The contract was signed and preliminary works began on October 16, 2023. Al-Qahtani discussed the management of waste landfills after their implementation, saying that the maintenance and monitoring projects for waste landfills in northern and southern Kuwait aim to maintain landfills permanently and continuously to repair the damage caused by rain and corrosion to the landfills. He stated that the results of unexploded ordnance in the northern and southern Kuwait projects for drilling, transport and processing from January 2022 until October 2023 amounted to more than a thousand pieces. oil fields For his part, the head of the Soil Rehabilitation Projects II team at the Kuwait Oil Company, Eng. Muthanna Al-Mumen oil fields in Kuwait, where he said that the country contains 10 oil fields in two main regions, the first in the north of Kuwait, which includes the fields of Ratqa, Al-Rawdatain, Al-Sabriya, and Bahra, and the second in the south of Kuwait, which in turn includes the Greater Burgan, Manaqish, and Umm Qadir fields. As for the Burgan fields, it consists of 3 Distinctive oil fields are Al-Ahmadi, Burgan and Al-Maqwa. The believer said that in 1994, Kuwait appealed to the United Nations Compensation Commission to finance environmental losses, and in 2006 the Kuwaiti focal point for environmental projects was formed, and in 2010 the Kuwait Environmental Rehabilitation Program was established, and in 2012 the soil rehabilitation group was established in the Kuwait Oil Company, In 2013, the Mardam Project was launched in northern Kuwait and in southern Kuwait, and in 2014 the North and South Kuwait Drilling and Transport Project was established, and in 2015 the strategy of the Kuwait Soil Rehabilitation Program was amended, and in 2017 unexploded ordnance removal projects were established - the first phase, and in In 2018, a strategy for tenders and contracts was developed and developed. In 2021, 5 contracts were awarded for major remediation projects. In 2022, a consulting contract was awarded with the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research. In 2023, contracts for 3 major remediation projects were awarded. Al-Mumen mentioned that the projects that were completed in the landfill projects in northern and southern Kuwait, where the landfill in northern Kuwait was completed on July 22, 2019, with a total volume of 1.7 million cubic meters, and in southern Kuwait, the construction of the landfill was completed on December 10, 2019, with a total volume of 0.6 million. Cubic meters. Regarding the excavation and transportation projects in northern and southern Kuwait, Al-Mumen said that the North Kuwait Excavation and Transportation Project was completed on July 31, 2017, with a total area of 3.8 million square meters excavated, while the contractor for the South Kuwait Excavation and Transportation Project was completed on November 30, 2017, with an area of ​​excavated areas. Its excavation capacity is 1.6 million cubic metres. Al-Momen added: “As for the unexploded ordnance within the first phase, the project was completed on July 22, 2019, as the unexploded ordnance was removed in northern Kuwait with a cleared area of 5.2 million square metres. As for the removal of unexploded ordnance in southern Kuwait, the area amounted to... 0.7 million square meters were cleared.” He stated that the strategy of the Kuwait Environmental Rehabilitation Program (the comprehensive rehabilitation solution) was amended, as the comprehensive rehabilitation solution was developed and developed as an amendment to the program strategy with the aim of maximizing remediation work and reducing dependence on landfills. In January 2015, it was approved by the Kuwait Focal Point for Environmental Projects and the Advisory Board of the United Nations Committee. United Compensation. Regarding the revegetation project, Al-Mumen said that the land regreening projects aim to re-green three areas in northern and southern Kuwait with a total area of 30 square kilometers, with the aim of restoring the ecological functions of the natural environment. Nearly 7 million and 403 thousand desert plants and more than 25 thousand will be planted. From wild trees, sustainable irrigation systems will be created to irrigate the wild trees that will be planted. It is worth noting that more than 42 square kilometers of unexploded ordnance were surveyed as part of the Kuwait Program for Environmental Rehabilitation and the evacuation of more than 1,900 unexploded ordnance. More than 16 square kilometers of land were evacuated of contaminated soil and more than two million cubic meters of contaminated soil were treated. The number of soil rehabilitation projects in northern Kuwait is two contracts and the value of each contract is about 2 million dinars. The projects in southern Kuwait, the first phase, are 3 contracts and the value of each contract is about 3 million dinars. The projects in the south, the second phase, are 3 contracts and the value of 2.78 million dinars per contract.