Kuwait

On January 25-27, 1991, during Iraqi s occupation of Kuwait, pumping stations at Mina Al-Ahmadi sent 4 to 6 million barrels of oil - 16 to 25 times more than the amount spilled by the Exxon Valdez - into the Arabian Gulf. On January 27, allied bombers stopped the spill by destroying the pumping stations. 

Ad Daffi Bay and Abu Ali Island experienced the greatest pollution. The spill damaged sensitive mangrove swamps and shrimp groimds. Marine birds, such as cormorants, grebes, and auks, were killed when their plumage was coated with oil. The beaches around the shoreline were covered with oil and tar balls. 

Despite the ongoing war, the clean-up of the oil spill proceeded rapidly. Kuwaiti crude is rich in light ends, and water in the Arabian Gulf water is relatively warm. For these reasons, about half of the spilled oil evaporated, Kuwaiti crude simply evaporated, leaving behind a thick emulsion which eventually solidified and sank to the bottom of the sea. Another 1.5 million barrels were recovered by skimming. Operators of sea-water cooled factories and desalination plants were concerned that the oil might foul liieir intake systems. To prevent this, protective booms that extended three feet (1 meter) below the surface were installed around intakes in Bahrain, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. 

On February 23-27, 1991, retreating Iraqi soldiers damaged three large refineries and blew up 732 Kuwaiti oil wells, starting fires on 650 of them. Up to 6 million barrels per day were lost between February 23 and November 8, 

Crews from 34 countries assembled to fight the oil-well fires. Initially, experts said the fires would rage for several years. But due to the development of innovative fire-fighting technology, the job took less than 8 months. 

Imported Inorganic Chemical Elements, Oxides and Halogen Salts in Kuwait, 2002 

Country of Origin Rank Value (000 US ) % Share Cumulative % 

Source Philip M. PARKER, Professor, INSEAD, copyright 2002, www.icongrouponline.com 

A major portion of the oil production is exported to more than 30 countries. The main importer of Kuwaiti petroleum is Japan. In Kuwait, there are four oil refineries with a total capacity of 40 million tons per year. In 1989, 38.6 million tons of petroleum were produced, from which six million tons were used inside the country. The rest was exported. 

During the Iraq-Kuwait war, 800 or more than half of the oil wells in Kuwait and the shared Zone were destroyed. One-third of the petroleum extracted in the period preceding the war was burned during the war. It is estimated that by the time the last fires on oil wells were extinguished petroleum worth approximately 40 billion dollars was lost. After restoration of the oil wells, there was significant reduction of pressure in the oil wells. As a result, secondary and tertiary methods of oil extraction were required for production. The consequence has been a fourfold increase in the cost of extraction (four dollars per ton before the war). As a 

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The proven petroleum reserve estimate in Kuwait is 96.85 billion barrels. This accounts for 10% of world reserves. Natural gas wells are 1500 billion cubic meters. The annual volume of natural gas extraction is 7.8 billion cubic meters. The oil-extracting capacity is 2.35 million barrels per day. In 1998, Kuwait extracted 101 million barrels of petroleum from its wells. It was expected that there would be the potential to bring the extraction to 2.5 million barrels per day at the end of 2000 and up to three million barrels per day by 2005. Two thirds of the extracted petroleum is exported, 20% is exported to the USA, 50% to Southeast Asian and Japan. 

The oil and gas industry of Kuwait is subordinated to Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC). Its structure includes five companies. (1) Kuwait Oil Corporation (KOC) looks at both the production and export of petroleum and gas. (2) Kuwait National Petroleum Company looks after oil processing and manufacture of liquified natural gas, as well as their marketing and export. (3) Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC) is engaged in the manufacture and export of petrochemical products. (4) Kuwait Oil Tankers (KOTC) engages in the transportation of petroleum, petroleum products and liquefied gas. (5) Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company looks at both the extraction of petroleum and gas abroad. In 1998, the Supreme Council of Kuwait accepted the decisions to reorganize the KPC, as well as privatize the PIC and KOTC. 

The amount of accident compensation ranges between US 360 and US 720 for each of the affected workers. Many professionals believe that an increase in the monetary sum of the compensation would help increase safety on site (Al-Humaidi and Tan 2010). 

On-site safety standards are specified in the conditions of the contract which the project stakeholders agree to. Some projects follow OSHA regulations, others follow British Safety Standards. Kuwaiti safety standards, however, do not comply with international codes and standards. There is no doubt that the lack of standards and codes account for current safety problems in Kuwait s construction. Moreover, The Workers Affairs Department fail to provide detailed reports of accidents. They only provide accounts for the government s needs to impose stricter legislation, rules and constmction standards. (Al-Humaidi and Tan 2010). 

In general, Al-Humaidi and Tan (2010) identify four major areas which need to improve and modify. First, mles regarding compensation of workers injured or killed in accidents. Second, labor unions have to protect the rights of laborers. Third, a competent person as defined by OSHA regulations who is responsible for safety on construction sites is needed. Fourth, a detailed database which records all construction-related accidents and the results of investigations into the causes of accidents is necessary to improve on-site safety practices and minimize accidents in the future. 

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An example of the good correlation between TBP and simulated distillation is given in Figure 2.4, where it is shown that 71% of a Kuwait crude distils below 535T. 

By far the largest known concentrations of conventional petroleum reserves are in the Middle East, particularly in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait (Table 1). The largest concentration of reserves is in the Burgan field (10.2 x 10 (64.2 x 10 bbl)) in Kuwait (10), which... 

Neutral 2one is produced joindy by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. 

Historically, the world s petroleum production pattern can be related to geologic, economic, and pohtical factors. In the past, many countries have had large excesses in production capacity, whereas in the 1990s, only countries in the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates, have, in the short mn, enough excess capacity to expand production of conventional cmde petroleum in any significant manner. In the Middle East, production of petroleum is over five times the region s consumption (see Table 4). On a much smaller scale, Africa produces far more petroleum than it consumes (3.4 times). 

Alternatively, small amounts of potable water may be deUvered by tmck to distribution centers or to tanks on house roofs. This system exists in Kuwait, which has many filling stations from which tank-tmck operators buy water at 1.00/m for distribution at about 3.00/m. Although much water is direcdy piped to residences in Kuwait today, 12% of the people still get their water by tmck. In Khartoum, Sudan, families that buy from vendors, who dehver sacks of water by donkey, pay an average of 16 per month. 

Catalysis in Petroleum Refining 1989," in D. L. Trimm, S. Akashah, M. Absi-Haibai, and A. Bishara, eds.. Proceedings of the First International Conference on Catalysis in Petroleum Refining Kuwait, Mat. 5—8, 1989, Elsevier Science Pubhshing Co., Inc., New York, 1989. 

Concentration of Seawater by ED. In terms of membrane area, concentration of seawater is the second largest use. Warm seawater is concentrated by ED to 18 to 20% dissolved soHds using membranes with monovalent-ion-selective skins. The EDR process is not used. The osmotic pressure difference between about 19% NaCl solution and partially depleted seawater is about 20,000 kPa (200 atm) at 25°C, which is well beyond the range of reverse osmosis. Salt is produced from the brine by evaporation and crystallisa tion at seven plants in Japan and one each in South Korea, Taiwan, and Kuwait. A second plant is soon to be built in South Korea. None of the plants are justified on economic grounds compared to imported solar or mined salt. 

Corrosion protection using bitumen coatings reaches back into antiquity. The most ancient occurrence of bitumen deposits was in Mesopotamia. Many writers of antiquity, such as Dido, Strabo, and Vitruvius, mention that asphalt was obtained for many years near Babylon. About 5000 yeare ago, the streets of Ur, capital of the Sumerians (north of present-day Kuwait), were lit at night with mineral oil. Natural gas was reported to be used for lighting in the Middle East and China. 

Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Catalysts in Petroleum Refining and Petrochemical Industries, Kuwait, April 22-26,1995 edited by M. Absi-Halabi, J. Beshara, H. Qabazard and A. Stanislaus Volume 101 11th International Congress on Catalysis-40th Anniversary. 

Equate, a joint venture between Petroleum Industrial Corporation in Kuwait and Union Carbide Corporation, built a grass-roots petrochemical... 

U.S. Interagency Team Proposes Program to Quantify Effects of Kuwait Oil Fires," /. Air Waste Management Assoc. 41,(6), June 1991. 

Hydrofining has been applied to Varsols and various other solvents for the control of odor, sulfur, and corrosion characteristics. For example. Hydrofining of Iranian and Kuwait distillates demonstrated its effectiveness as a means of producing "White Spirit", a high-quality solvent naphtha distributed in the United Kingdom. 

Arabia, the largest OPEC oil producer. OPEC produces about 40 percent of the world s crude oil output and It supplies about 45 percent of all traded petroleum. In total, almost 60 percent of the world s crude oil extraction is exported from about forty-five hydrocarbon-producing countries—but the six largest exporters (Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia, Norway, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates) sell just over 50 percent of the traded total. In contrast, more than 130 countries import crude oil and refined oil products besides the United States, the largest buyers are Japan, Germany, France, and Italy. 

The OPEC cartel was founded by Iraq, Iran, Saudia Arabia, Kuwait, and Venezuela in September I960 as a way to coordinate petroleum production and pricing among member countries. It was not until the 1970s that the cartel tried to become an effective monopoly. 

Europe, and the rest of the world defended Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in the GtilfWar in 1991. TTowever, as long as the United States or any other eountry is willing to pay the world price for oil, then it can purchase as much oil as it wants. 

Oil discovered in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The United States, Britain, and the Netherlands put an oil embargo on Japan after it takes over Indonesia. 

August. Iraq invades Kuwait, triggering an international crisis. 

January 15. United States and allied countries launch Operation Desert Storm against Iraq to end its invasion of Kuwait. 

Car-washing wastewater Carwash water Kuwait Separation tank/oil water separator/ Alters... 

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