14 Nine pipes and a new manifold to support productivity and export. 16 A brilliant future for producing unified gas in commercial quantities

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2 In This Issue Quarterly Magazine Issue No. 49, July Gulf companies supplying planes with fuels seek to unify their efforts 14 Nine pipes and a new manifold to support productivity and export 16 A brilliant future for producing unified gas in commercial quantities KPC Mission Kuwait 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.

3 8 HH the Amir's successful trip to China 20 Drilling platforms and the biggest tender in Kuwait's history 24 PIC and international excellence in producing Urea 28 Leadership and its importance at KNPC captains get overseas certificate Editor-in-Chief Talal Al-Khalid Al-Sabah Managing Director, Governmental, Parliamentary, Public and Media Relations Editorial Team Media Relations Dept. The KPC World team would like to extend their appreciation to everyone who contributed editorial material, information, and photos for this magazine issue. Correspondence P.O. Box: 26565, Safat, Kuwait Fax: (965) Website:

4 Editorial Specialist scientific studies indicate that the importance of natural gas has greatly increased given its economic and environmental advantages, confirming that the 21 st century will be the Century of Gas as the 20 th century was the Century of Oil. Kuwait has been fully aware of the importance of gas for a long time and has accordingly drawn up plans for policies governing gas production and exploration operations, whether in the form of an accompaniment to oil or as free gas. Thanks to the hard work and perseverance of KOC s staff, the country has now joined the international Gas Club of major global gas producers, particularly following the substantial reserves discovered in the Jurassic layer in the north of the country. Given the crucial importance of these discoveries for Kuwait, KOC has made tremendous efforts to find and develop further wells to meet the ever-increasing needs for gas that strengthens Kuwait s international reputation in this field. For this reason, our colleagues at KOC are keen to achieve objectives that can give the Kuwaiti economy an additional boost. Due to the importance of these issues, this issue of the KPC World Newsletter includes articles on a variety of significant related topics, headed by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah s recent visit to China, which crowned KPC s efforts to build a strong partnership with that country in the area of oil and gas. This issue also includes an interview with Mr. Menahi Al-Enzi, the manager of the Gas Development Group, shedding light on KOC s tremendous efforts to develop gas in order to achieve KPC s and Kuwait s goals in this area. Other articles feature coverage of a variety of issues demonstrating the oil sector s progress in line with a clearly planned methodology towards achieving the 2030 Strategy. Talal Al-Khalid Al-Sabah Managing Director, Governmental, Parliamentary, Public and Media Relations

5 KPC worker first in M.E to be made permanent int l committee member Many achievements have been accomplished in Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), its subsidiaries, locally, territorially and internationally. Among these achievements is Eng. Ali Hussein Al-Awadhi s selection as a permanent member of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61511, making him the first member representing the Middle East. This is not Al-Awadhi s first achievement during his time with the company; the Instrument Design Specialist with MAB is also the first certified Functional Safety Expert from Kuwait, having been certified by the CFSE organization as an expert in the automatic stopping system. Al-Awadhi took part in the committee s most recent biannual meeting, which took place between May, 2009 in the Hague, Netherlands. At the meeting, he submitted a paper in which he gave an elaborate explanation of the role played by Kuwait through KPC in the oil and energy field in general, in addition to KPC s role in the refinement field in developing the sector and coping with the developed technology used in this domain. As he explained, this is in line with KNPC s visions and principles to achieve high levels of performance, in addition to developing its manpower resources and applying the best solutions. Al-Awadhi s latest achievement also gives Kuwait the right to vote on the modified version of the IEC, which the committee will approve in the near future. This version includes several important ideas, notices and issues that Al-Awadhi emphasized during the last meeting of the committee. Ali Al-Awadhi with a number of IEC staff members

6 Al-Abdullah: OPEC not seeking to cut production His Excellency Sheikh Ahmad Al- Abdullah Al-Sabah, the Minister of Oil and of Information and the Chairman of KPC s board of directors, has confirmed that the rise in oil prices in recent weeks is due to the general sense of satisfaction with the stability in the market, not because of the high demand for oil, indicating, The market is reacting to the heightened Al-Rushaid: KOC committed to legal procedures to prepare external companies KPC s board chairman and the managing director of KOC Mr. Sami Fahed Al-Rushaid has emphasized that KOC is seriously committed to the rehabilitative legal procedures to prepare external companies working on its projects, whether these are contractors carrying out activities or those who import equipment. morale rather than other principal factors. Rejecting rumors that OPEC intends to cut oil production levels during its next meeting, which is due to be held in September, Sheikh Ahmad Al- Abdullah said that OPEC does not prefer prices to rise to the hundreds of dollars range as this will reinforce recession again. He added that it is better to give the international economy sufficient time to recover. However, Al-Abdullah indicated that he would be much happier if the price reached $70-75 per barrel. OPEC has reportedly maintained the same production ceiling it agreed on at its meeting in May as the rise in oil prices and increased levels of optimism have spread to improve the international economy, which has reduced concerns over the increase in the amount of crude oil in reserves. Commenting on the success of the Chinese company Sinopec in winning contracts worth KD 116 million to import drilling platforms to be utilized by KOC in various locations, Al-Rushaid said that the Chinese company is one of the foremost specialist international companies in this field and also has a Kuwaiti agent and partner. Speaking during the ceremony for the presentation of the annual Chairman s HSE Awards, Al-Rushaid explained that the tender was offered to Sinopec in line with KOC s official procedures and regulations, indicating that the contract gives Sinopec a five-year-leasehold to leasing five of the average-sized drills which are required by the company at the current time to dig new wells in various locations. Al-Rushaid revealed that the tender was publicly offered to both local and international companies, adding that one of the local companies managed to win a contract to lease eight out of the 27 drills required. The chairman revealed that KOC had begun the preparations for the tender a year ago, explaining that it forms part of KOC s plan to increase productivity to 4 million barrels per day by 2020, in accordance with the 2030 strategy, which requires digging a large number of wells, in addition to developing and maintaining the current wells. Shedding light on the gas production project and KOC s plans to produce one billion cubic feet of Kuwaiti gas by 2015, Al-Rushaid emphasized that KOC has concluded the first phase of the project, having already managed to produce 150 million cubic feet of gas as planned. In addition, it has started the second phase of the project, which aims to increase productivity to 450 million cubic feet; thus the total production of the two phases will be 600 million cubic feet. He added that the second phase of the project is expected to be completed by 2012, revealing that preparations are already underway for the third phase, which will be finished by 2015 to enable the company to produce one billion cubic feet per a day. Bourisli: KOTC to offer tenders worth $200 million for two oil tankers Nabil Bouresli, the board chairman and Managing Director of the Kuwait Oil Tanker Company (KOTC), has revealed that the company is to offer two tenders for the construction of two tankers for transportation of oil products in the next two months after the two tenders submitted to the Central Tenders Committee (CTC) for legal approval.

7 Bourisli explained that the two tankers will complete the second phase of the process of updating the company s tanker fleet, affirming that the present time is suitable for getting appropriate prices under the current international conditions. He predicted that the cost of constructing the two tankers would reach $ million. KOTC has already received nine tankers and one service ship built in S. Korea, Singapore and Bahrain, replacing the previous vessels. In addition, the company is determined to have a fleet of 28 tankers by 2015 and 34 tankers by Furthermore, KPC is expected to order another nine tankers during the third phase as part of its plan to update its fleet after finalizing the second phase. China refinery complex project set for completion by 2013 KPC signs MoU with China to expedite approval for final alternative refinery location Kuwait has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China to expedite obtaining the approval of the Chinese authorities to begin the necessary procedures for finalizing the alternative location for the joint refinery project to be established in Guangdong Province in the south of China. The two sides reportedly agreed that the alternative location for the refinery would be in Nansha in Gaungetshu, the capital of the province which faces environmental challenges due to the sizeable urban population. In addition, all the environmental and the feasibility studies conducted for the Nansha location have been completed and are set to be approved. During His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah s recent visit to China, Kuwait and Beijing signed an accord to establish a refinery and petrochemical complex worth around $ 9 billion. The project is partnership among four international companies; the Chinese company Sinopec, which owns 50% of the project, Kuwait, which has 30% and the two international companies, Dow and Shell, which each have 10% of it. The project is expected to be completed by Al-Fulaij: KUFPEC seeks to increase its share in Egyptian oil exploration field Speaking on the sidelines of the inauguration of the fifth Intergas Exhibition, which was held in Egypt last month, Eng. Abdul-Nasser Al-Fulaij, the DMD of the new projects section of the Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Explorations Company (KUFPEC), said that the company is among those playing a large part in the area of oil exploration in Egypt and a number of other countries. Al-Fulaij also stated that Kuwait was among the first Arab countries to invest in the petroleum exploration field in Egypt, beginning its activities there twenty years ago. He explained that KUFPEC is currently working in several oil fields in Egypt, with other fields still under exploration, in line with an ambitious program that seeks to increase KUF- PEC' s share in this domain in Egypt, adding that KUFPEC s activities are spread across several countries worldwide, including Australia, East Asian countries, Tunisia and others. Around thirty papers on issues related to producing and industrializing petroleum and gas globally were presented and discussed at the Intergas Exhibition, with an emphasis on the effects of the international financial crisis on this sector. 473 companies from all over the world took part in the exhibition, where KUFPEC was represented by Mohammed Safan, the director of its branch in Egypt, and Abdulrahman Al-Bedaiwi, the director of Governmental and Public Relations. Dr. Rashid Al-Hamad, the Kuwaiti Ambassador to Cairo, who also attended the exhibition, emphasized the importance of Kuwait's participation in events concerned with this domain internationally. He indicated that Kuwait is one of the countries which participates regularly and effectively in the exhibition, which is held every two years, praising the country s participation, represented by KPC subsidiary KUFPEC. The ambassador also voiced hope for greater participation from other Kuwaiti institutions and companies working in this field, especially the oil sector firms, at the next Intergas Exhibition, due to the substantial role they play in the oil investment field.

8 Among the distinguished economic relations between Kuwait and China HH the Amir signs several accords in the fields of infrastructure, oil, sports and higher education In a step intended to reinforce the economic and historic relations between Kuwait and China, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- Jaber Al-Sabah paid a two-day visit to China from May 10-13, During the visit, HH the Amir discussed several important issues with HH Hu Jintao, the president of China, as well as several security-related matters, including stability in the Middle East region and China s role in this field. These discussions resulted in the signing of a number of important bilateral accords, as follows: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding the establishment of the infrastructure of highways and waterways. Exchanging documents of cooperative accord on oil and gas between Kuwait and China.

9 An accord on common cooperation in the field of Higher Education. An executive program of cooperation in the area of sports for 2009/2010 between the two countries. A loan for a proposal between Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development and China is tasked to protect and develop Boston Lake's branches. The signing of these economic accords with China demonstrates the development of successful and friendly relations between the two nations, which have visibly advanced, particularly after the signing of a bilateral military MoU in March 1995 and of another contract worth around $ 400 million at the end of December 1995 between KOC and the China Petroleum Engineering Company to establish two oil collection centers. Another contract was also signed to expand the Chinese port of Jinzhou through a facilitated loan valued at KD six million on February 12, It should be noted that relations between the two countries began before the official launch of diplomatic bilateral relations, since HH the late Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah paid a visit to China on February 13, 1965, when he was Finance, Industry and Commerce Minister. During that visit, he met with a number of officials, amongst them the then-chinese president Leo Shawo Chi. The late Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad also visited the country in December 1990 during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait while he was the Amir. His third visit to China was made in November 1991, when he was escorted by the sons of martyrs

10 and captives to convey the suffering of the Kuwaiti nation to the whole world; however, the visit was also intended to thank China for its supportive stance in favor of the international legality. was the first Gulf country to recognize China and support its policies. China also wholeheartedly supports Kuwait in protecting its sovereignty and independence, with this mutual political support encouraging the two countries to open wide horizons for cooperation in various fields, economically, commercially, artistically, military and culturally. This cooperation was obvious following the Kuwaiti war of liberation through the participation of Chinese companies in helping to reconstruct Kuwait. In addition to this, the China National Petroleum Company took part in putting out the oil fires started by the Iraqi invaders, with Chinese firefighters managing to extinguish the fires in ten oil wells in the Burgan Field. The China Petroleum Engineering Company also carried out the project to restore Ahmadi Refinery. Under the watchword of economic diplomacy' which he adopts, HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah travelled to the countries of East Asia while he was still Kuwait s premier in 2004, beginning his journey with a visit to China to cement the economic cooperation between the two nations, particularly in oil field which is considered the cornerstone of Kuwaiti- Chinese relations as China is one of the biggest consumers of oil worldwide. China s im- 10 On the level of official diplomatic relations, Kuwait and China launched their diplomatic relations in March 1971 and since then the two countries friendship and cooperative relations have tangibly developed, being based on mutual respect and common advantage. In addition, Kuwait

11 ports of Kuwaiti crude oil have risen rapidly in recent years, with the bulk being used in the country s transport, communications and industrial sectors. This has reflected positively in increasing the demand for crude oil, as well as oil products. Moreover, China is also considered the factory of the world since its products are exported to most countries and regions worldwide, including the USA, Europe and the developing nations. It is, therefore, one of Kuwait s most important markets, with its global reach enabling Kuwait to market its raw oil and the various oil products produced by its refineries. As a result, Kuwait has taken practical steps to sign such accords with China to strengthen its partnership with the country. This is also being achieved through two current projects; the first of these is the establishment of an oil refinery in Guangdon city, with a refining capacity of around 300,000 barrels per day, while the second project is the Fujian' refinery, with a capacity of about 200,000 barrels a day. These two projects are among the petrochemicals complex China is to establish. Furthermore, Kuwait's interests also extend into other fields, with the participation of the Public Authority for Investment (PAI), which has invested funds in a number of Asian countries, including China. The PAI has also invested in the Commercial Bank of China, considered the biggest bank globally in terms of marketing value. At the same time, the Kuwaiti private sector for investment has initiated investments in various fields in the Chinese market. 11

12 The Technical Committee of Gulf Forums for aviation fuel-providing companies holds it's 1 st meeting in Kuwait Nasser Al-Mudhaf: Aviation fuel-providing Gulf Companies urgently need to unify their efforts 12 The Technical Committee of Gulf Forums for aviation fuel-providing companies recently held it's first meeting in Kuwait. The mutual cooperation among the Gulf Cooperation Council GCC states has achieved tangible progress in various fields, especially after many decisions were taken and many executive procedures implemented in this domain after finalizing the legislative apparatus organizing its commercial, economic and industrial activities. Therefore, the concerned GCC nations oil industry officials have been intensifying their meetings scheduled to reach harmonious agreements in favor of all the GCC states' benefit. The meeting of the Technical Committee of Gulf Forums for companies providing airlines with aviation fuel was held recently in Kuwait. KPC World, taking a special interest in the event, interviewed Nasser Al- Mudhaf, the general manager and deputy board chairman of the Kuwaiti company responsible for providing aviation fuel, to shed light on the meeting and the reasons for holding it. At the beginning of the interview, Al-Mudhaf expressed his great satisfaction at the meeting being held for the first time in Kuwait, indicating that the concerned officials had approved the establishment of a technical committee for aviation fuels during the meeting of the general directors on the sidelines of the 11 th Gulf Forum for aviation fuel-providing firms, which was held in Muscat last year. He added that several technical specialist teams in this domain work under the committee s patronage, including a team dealing with the technical specifications of equipment, a technical and engineering systems team and another team dealing with the systems of filters approved in the Gulf region.

13 Stressing the importance of unifying the efforts of Gulf aviation fuel providers, Al- Madhaf said that these Gulf companies seriously need to unify and harmonize their efforts in this field for many reasons, such as the following: To cope with the expansion taking place in airports in the Gulf region, especially in Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait, which will lead to increasing numbers of planes and flights. To enable the Gulf aviation fuel providers to continue making profits, especially given the current global economic crisis. To encourage Gulf airlines to expand their planned Asian routes, especially to nations in the Far East since many international airlines have stopped launching flights to that region after being negatively affected by the international economic situation. It is believed that expanding these airlines flight numbers to these countries will help make the Gulf region s airports a central hub between Asia and other nations globally Talking about the procedures that should be implemented to unify the technical and engineering specifications of the Gulf companies working in this field, Al-Madhef recommended that they should form a unified technical committee including representatives of all the Gulf aviation fuel providers comprising several specialist teams to work seriously on accomplishing the objectives listed below: To unify the technical specifications of the equipment being used. To unify the systems used for technical and engineering assessment. To unify the systems used for checking the filters being utilized. To unify the specifications for tenders and purchases. Replying to an inquiry about the target of unifying the technical and engineering specifications among GCC states, Al-Madhef said this step aims to achieve numerous goals such as: Reducing expenditure and costs. Exchanging technology and experience. Developing the products to cope with the latest international specifications. Providing the best prices for the tenders, in addition to importing purchases. Exchanging supplies among Gulf companies in case of any emergencies or shortages. 13

14 The new Central Mixing Manifold supports productivity and export capabilities KOC is looking forward to achieving the new challenge of producing around three million bpd by 2010 after successfully managing to produce more than 2.5 million bpd recently. It is also pursuing another challenge, which is to accomplish the hopes and ambitions of KPC. KPC World interviewed the head of the Export Utilities team, Mohsen Jasir Al-Shimmari and Senior Engineer Ahmad Hammoud Al-Fenini to shed more light on the latest developments in the proposal. At the beginning of the interview, Al-Shimmari talked about the achievements accomplished in regard to the proposal, particularly within the previous period in February, 2009, clarifying that nine pipes were replaced and went into operation one month ahead of their scheduled start date. In addition, oil has been pumped using the new Central Mixing Manifold (CMM) from March 4, 2009 in Ahmadi instead of using the old one. This was also achieved two months earlier than Mohsen Al-Shimmari: The proposal aims to provide the necessary support to increase productivity to 3 million barrels per day scheduled; thus, KOC has accomplished another phase in its 2020 strategy. Explaining the aim of replacing the old CMM with the new one, Al-Shimmari said that the new CMM represents a main part of KOC s strategy to produce four million bpd, with this step playing a pivotal role in removing the obstacles impeding KOC's ability to increase its productivity and export capacity. Therefore, he continued, the company s senior administration was keen on replacing the old CMM and following up the implementation of the process. In addition, he went on, the management facilitated the removal of all the barriers hampering the implementation of the proposal, which encouraged the team to complete work of the highest quality on the implementation of the proposal before its scheduled date. Al-Shimmari hailed the fruitful cooperation provided by KOC s other teams and groups in this regard, as well as that of the contractor and the consultant, indicating that this positive cooperation had led to several successes such as avoiding the occurrence of accidents since no casualties were reported and no environmental damage took place. In addition, they managed to complete the work within the allotted budget without requiring any extra funds. For its part, the Technical Services department s Safety Team prepared a report about the safety of the proposal and all the indicators were positive; moreover, KOC conducted several studies on managing the hazards to guarantee safe operations for the proposal. Among these were: 14

15 A study about the operative hazards (HAZOP). A study about Health, Safety and Environment requirements (PHSER). A quantitative assessment of the hazards (SIL). A study into confining safety levels (QRA). The results of all the studies were extremely positive. For his part, Al-Fenini explained in detail the technical aspects related to the phase of implementing the process of replacing the old CMM, which is considered an important phase in achieving the 2020 strategy, adding that the CMM plays a principal role in the process of exporting oil as it receives all the oil from all KOC centers and mixes them to meet the required specifications of Kuwait s oil to be exported. Al-Fenini: Mainly Kuwaiti contractors carried out most of the main activities and around 95% of engineering, electrical and excavation activities He revealed that the cost of the proposal reached KD 74 million, including the establishment of a new ramified pipe in Ahmadi for distribution, pipes for pumping the raw oil which connects the CMM and the northern and southern enclosures, as well as Ahmadi s distribution manifold pipe. He said that the proposal included exchanging the distribution pipes which have various sizes, however, most of these sizes are between 34 and 48 inches. He added that the proposal also included the establishment of a new control room and new power substation, in addition to the establishment of special utilities to carry the pipes in various locations. He explained that the length of the extended pipes reached 62,000 m at a depth of around 501 cubic meters during the first phase of the proposal, using around 12,000 cubic meters of cement and 3,000 tons of asphalt, in addition to the 5.2 million working hours spent on the project. Commenting on the participation of the Kuwaiti companies in the implementation of the proposal, Al-Fenini indicated that most of the purchases were bought on the local market. In addition, he revealed, Kuwaiti contractors carried out most of the main work, as well as 95% of the engineering and electrical activities and excavation, with the principal contractor tasked with devising the engineering designs and supervising the implementation of all the proposal s phases. Talking about what KOC has gained from the implementation of the proposal, Al-Fenini confirmed that the tangible improvement of safety and environmental health levels is the most important achievement which resulted from implementation of the proposal, explaining that the old CMM pipes were likely to cause leakage. He added that all the crude oil from the old manifold is now being redirected to the new one. 15

16 Under Kuwait's increasing need for gas Menahi Al-Enzi: The future will bring many opportunities... and the coming years are decisive for us 16 Kuwait started to produce gas when it first explored for and produced oil in 1938, with each barrel of crude oil Kuwait produced since then including a certain amount of gas, with the quantities differing according to the gas reservoir and a number of other elements. Due to its increasingly urgent gas requirements, Kuwait decided in the 1970s to launch a gas project, which included separate stations to increase gas production in all Kuwait s main fields, in the north, east, west and south. This project aimed to pressurize the gas and handle it in a basic manner before exporting it, in addition to intensifying the methods of drilling and searching for gas. Due to the continuous efforts it exerted in its search and drilling, Kuwait discovered large quantities of free gas in the Jurassic layer in north Kuwait. This exploration will cover Kuwait s increasing requirements until KPC World Newsletter interviewed Engineer Menahi Al- Enzi, the manager of KOC s Gas Development Group, to find out more about the discoveries of natural gas, its merits and the company s future vision in this regard.

17 HH the Amir views the first quantity of free gas produced Eng. Al-Enzi clarified that the team began drilling and searching for gas at the end of the 1990s, with the operations continuing till the beginning of the millennium, explaining that the gas is extracted from six fields in northern Kuwait from layers dating back to the Jurassic age at a depth of around feet. He explained that these fields are studied using seismographs, geological plans, engineering research and programs of studying the deposits, which provide the team with the required data. Based on this data, the locations and numbers of the required wells are confirmed, along with the creation of plans for production related to production surface installations and gas pipes. In coordinating with Deep Drilling Group, the team creates a schedule to drill the Kuwait produces about 140 million cubic feet of gas and it is expected to reach one billion by 2015 wells, as well as drawing up the engineering designs and assessing other requirements such as equipment, drilling platforms and specialist technical teams. Al-Enzi explained that gas is used in several industries, as well as being used to provide power stations with an energy source. It is also a primary and vital factor in many everyday activities, therefore KOC took serious steps to develop the six gas fields once gas production was launched. A plan has been put in place to reduce the risks and confirm the nature of the explored gas and the requirements. Al-Enzi revealed that KOC has used the latest technology and ideas in this project, whether in the drilling process or in establishing the installations, in a step that aims to reach the expected production levels in the allocated period, avoiding any delays. The plan includes three phases, as follows: The first phase, the production phase, was finalized in March this year and was tasked with producing around 50,000 barrels of light oil barrels daily, with 175 million cubic feet of associated gas. This phase was carried out in two parts; the first part comprised drilling twenty deep wells for exploration and drilling, while the second part was represented 17

18 by establishing an installation to handle the gas and purify it of acids and other impurities to enable KOC to export it to Kuwait National Petroleum Company s (KNPC) facilities. The second phase is expected to be completed by the end of 2011/2012. It aims to increase the production level from 175 million cubic feet to 600 million. In addition to this, a further sixty wells will be drilled and another installation will be established, whose productivity is supposed to reach 500 million cubic feet, as well as producing 300,000 barrels of light oil. The third phase's activities will coincide with the second phase and will be accomplished by the end of 2015/2016. It is tasked with producing one billion cubic feet of gas, in addition to increasing the production of light oil to 350,000 barrels daily. Asked about the targeted and extracted quantities and whether or not they meet Kuwait s gas needs, Eng. Al-Enzi indicated that Kuwait needs to produce larger quantities than it currently produces due to the rapid expansion of construction in the country, in addition to the other uses of gas. For this reason, KOC has established a plan to produce 1.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day by He revealed there are strategic plans in place to eventually produce four billion cubic feet per day; however the implementation of that plan requires more data and studies into the locations where gas is available. Asked about the tendency to reduce the quantity exported to clients during the summer in favor of Petrochemicals Industries Company (PIC), Al-Enzi explained that Kuwaiti production faces two main problems; the first of these is the quota of Kuwaiti oil demanded by OPEC, which affects the quantity of the associated gas delivered to KNPC and other clients of the company. He emphasized that KOC exerts great efforts to compensate for this shortage through increasing the rate of production of the unassociated gas in order to avoid negatively affecting Kuwait's needs during the summer. The second problem, he added, is that the procedure of cleansing the gas of acids and other impurities is time-consuming and takes a great deal of effort. Commenting on the quality of the gas extracted in Kuwait 18

19 and what is produced in the neighboring countries such as Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, Al-Enzi confirmed that the quality of the gas is similar to oil's qualities, differing from one place to another. In addition, one of the drawbacks of Kuwaiti gas is the high percentage of sulfur it contains compared to the percentage of other gases, meaning that it requires great effort to cleanse it of these impurities. However, Kuwaiti gas also has an advantage in that its accompanied by large quantities of condensates; in addition, Kuwait is distinguished by an additional benefit since the gas wells also contain light oil, an advantage not available in many of the neighboring countries. Furthermore, Al-Enzi indicated that the teams face many difficulties. Some of these are related to the reservoirs which consist of cracked carbonic rocks which have exceptional physical characteristics and unique mineral structures; these affect the drilling methods used as it is necessary to reach deep bottoms and to deal with very high temperatures and pressure levels, as well as the challenges of the gas produced and its characteristics. Gas and Future Talking about the future of gas production in Kuwait and to what extent it will be able to join the GCC countries such as Qatar, Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Oman, Al-Enzi said that oil is the country s main energy resource, so there is no need to worry about it due to the available international gas reserves. He added that several years ago, the oil-producing countries failed to pay attention to their gas reserves and burned it. Following international developments and in light of changing needs, however, this began to change, he noted, making it necessary to expand production operations. Amongst these changes were those that took place in gas fields, from ordinary to liquefied gas, and the urgent need to produce environmentally friendly fuels, in addition to developments in the gas-bsaed petrochemicals industries. In fact, the future of gas in Kuwait is based on several factors and steps, in addition to developments in the technology of searching, drilling and methods of digging and exploration, as well as in the ideas of researchers in the production and exploration fields. The future may bring new ideas, he said, but KOC s Gas Development Group is sure that it will also bring many new opportunities as a result of the search, drilling and exploration taking place in the marine zone and the future plans based on KOC's new methods of exploration and drilling to reach greater depths, with the results in this area to date being extremely positive. 19

20 27 new drilling platforms will be added to service soon Ayad Al-Kandari: The increase of platforms more than 100% is very important to reinforce KOC's capability 20 Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) is moving steadily towards achieving its targets in accordance with KPC s 2020 strategy, the objective of which is to produce around four million barrels per day. KOC has been accomplishing daily achievements through increasing its resources in order to improve efficiency to the necessary levels in order to increase productivity; among these achievements is the work being done on the company s equipment and drilling platforms, which are considered the most crucial element in oil extraction operations. KPC World interviewed Ayad Al- Kandari, the manager of KOC s Drilling Development Group, to learn more about the issue of the new platforms, the well maintenance operations and the drilling operations. Eng. Al-Kandari said that KOC is following the example of the leading international companies in leasing the drilling platforms, indicating the system of leasing the platforms is an international trend adopted by all the major developed nations, although some nations, including Russia and India, own their own platforms. Due to KOC s continuous development and its strategy to increase productivity, the company is advancing steadily towards achieving two primary objectives; the first of these is to maintain the necessary rate of production, while the second is to actively increase production levels through drilling new wells, in addition to maintaining the old wells in order to increase their efficiency and productivity. Given its eagerness to achieve these objectives, KOC carries out regular geological studies to assess where to drill new wells, evaluate existing wells maintenance requirements and, in some cases, to explore the possibility of modifying the existing wells to increase production. There is no doubt that KOC s ambition and requirements increase, the need to provide oilwell derricks increases in turn,

21 so KOC has taken some steps in this regard, extending contracts with derrick-leasing companies to five-years, as well as giving them the option to extend the contract by a year more. The company s new strategy in this area also sees it offering a new tender to provide about 27 drilling platforms, the largest in KOC's history at the technical specifications level and in terms of the number of companies competing for the tender, valued at a total of US $ 7,200,000,000 (seven billion, two hundred million dollars). Another new departure for KOC with this contract is classifying the companies competing for the tender into two groups; A and B. The first group, Group A, includes companies which own and operate more than fifty platforms internationally, while Group B features companies with fewer than fifty in this category. This new system has already been approved, as KOC is keen to ensure that the bidding companies commit themselves to meeting the tender s technical requirements, fearing that otherwise they may fail to do so given their other international obligations. Al-Kandari explained that different drilling platforms have different capabilities, with some 2000 Horsepower (Hp) platforms being used in the development sector where the excavations are not at a deep level, while 3000 Hp platforms are used in the deeper wells or in gas exploration and production. Talking about the new platforms importance and their ability to increase Kuwait's productivity, Al-Kandari said that the Drilling Development Group is implementing its drilling operations in line with the company s Exploration and Development department s strategy, which is among KPC s general policies. One item in the department s strategic inventory is developing wells through specifying those that are to be drilled. The Drilling Development Group head went on to explain that Kuwait is actively seeking to increase productivity levels through implementing the 2020/2030 Strategy, meaning that there is an urgent need to drill more wells; this in turn requires more drilling platforms, he went on, which explains the large number of platforms required and the subsequent unprecedented size of the tender. This means that the number of platforms to be used is, in effect, increasing by over 100 percent compared to the current amount. Al-Kandari revealed that there are currently 25 platforms in use, adding that this will rise to 60 within the next 1.5 years to enable the company to cope with Kuwait's rapidly increasing oil and gas requirements. On the subject of the equipment used in developing the wells, Al-Kandari indicated that scientific Oil Deposit Management' studies are regularly carried out at all the wells using specialist methods. These studies are extremely important, he emphasized, since they monitor all the wells through utilizing all the available geological studies about wells drilled several years ago, as well as providing detailed data on them, such as their age, production levels and water movements. They also help in drawing up future plans for the wells and how to go about implementing them. Al-Kandari explained that specialist departments within KOC are working on developing the fields, putting together studies, programs and elaborate plans, in addition to monitoring drilling operations and production and regularly checking the wells. These departments conduct work that helps to gauge the various requirements, ranging from the number of wells needing to be drilled and assessments of current and future production quantities to conducting laboratory examinations of specimens of extracted oil and working on other technical issues. The development departments also conduct detailed studies and analysis on all the data on wells before devising integrated plans for each reservoir. The wells development operation is definitely an inclusive process, said Al- Kandari, whether regarding underground wells or surface utilities such as production lines and collection centers. The Drilling Development Group manager also emphasized that there is great mutual cooperation between KOC and contractors in drilling and maintaining the wells, with these operations being divided into two parts; the first part, including well maintenance, is the responsibility of KOC, with the officials concerned carrying out regular performance appraisals and evaluating requirements and breakdown levels, in addition to providing a detailed program for well modification and maintenance wherever necessary. The second part, meanwhile, dealing with equipment maintenance and periodic drilling platform maintenance, is entirely the responsibility of the contractors, although KOC is wholly responsible for the supervision of the platforms, with daily activity reports issued on their performance. Al-Kandari also explained that the drilling operation teams and the engineering development drilling team work closely with the Drilling Development Group, paying close attention to precise daily monitoring of well activities in order to achieve the desired objectives. 21

22 Sharing Best Practices leads to benefits Dr. Fatma Al-Shatti: KOC s waste-recycling project is the best solution to our problems 22 Kuwait Petroleum Corporation KPC and its subsidiaries pay much concern to the issue of applying the right integrated management for hazardous and safe waste, therefore KPC has put a system to manage the safe environment; this system is composed of eight environmental policies based on the law of protecting the Kuwaiti environment and Environment World Law. One of these policies is Waste Management, how to handle it and reduce it to be able to keep a natural environment, in addition to complying with laws and reinforcing the environmental awareness. The process of waste disposal in healthful landfills without handling this waste may lead to forming harmful gases affect the underground water. In addition, this process is very expensive due to its impacts on man and environment, however, studies have proved the waste disposal process without prior management is ineffective because of the high temperatures inside the landfill; therefore the prior management for waste is more effective. Moreover, the issue of waste disposal through ideal methods and modern techniques represents an important pivot to keep the earth from pollution and provide a healthful and comfortable environment for man. However, the actual beginning of the issue of hazardous waste recycling was with the expired fluorescent bulbs which contain a little percentage of mercury which is one of the hazardous substances since KPC had a big quantity of these bulbs stored in its facilities and they were a big problem for it, therefore KPC was searching for the best solutions to dispose of these substances. Dr. Fatima Al-Shatti, the leader of Environment Community, an informal community of environmental specialists explained that around 4,000 fluorescent light tubes were stored downstairs in KPC s headquarters building for about eight months. Through working in cooperation with KPC s staff members, Dr. Al-Shatti managed to devise a good method for disposing of them.

23 At the same time as KPC was searching for the best way of disposing of this waste, some subsidiaries had well prepared campaigns to recycle waste; among them was KOC, which possessed a new machine for recycling fluorescent lights, Al-Shatti explained, indicating that she paid a visit to KOC to get more information about the machine. She revealed that several benefits were achieved through this visit, with discussions and consultations held with those concerned with KOC s waste recycling project to provide a solution for KPC hazardous waste. She added that they used many of the KPC subsidiaries' practices in this field, adding that KPC s campaign prioritized the goal of reinforcing its staff members awareness of the importance of recycling waste through informing them of the Best Practices. Dr. Al-Shatti said she received assistance from a number of Environment Community staff, explaining that her colleague Wadha Al-Akrooka provided her with the names of a number of staff members experienced in applying Best Practices. One of KOC s Service Sector staff members presented an elaborate explanation of the machinery used in KOC to dispose of such hazardous substances utilizing a machine that separates glass, minerals and mercury, allowing each component to be safely disposed of. Commenting on the problem of waste at KPC, Al-Shatti explained to the KOC staff that she was looking for a way to dispose of fluorescent bulbs stored in KPC as they contain minerals, glass and mercury, which is one of the heavy, hazardous substances. She said that she had forwarded a letter to the concerned official in KPC s HSE department inquiring about the possibility of using KOC s approach to dispose of the fluorescent tubes safely at KPC. Otherwise, she said our only option would be to send them to the hazardous waste landfill site, which she pointed out, would cost KPC a huge amount of money. In addition, she pointed out, the mercury from the fluorescent tubes could accumulate and have a disastrous effect on the underground aquifers. Taking all this into consideration, she had spoken with Adel Abbas, the senior engineer who manages the recycling contract for the Ahmadi Services Group, who coordinated with the concerned contractors to receive the fluorescent bulbs. Furthermore, the recycling is expected to be finalized in the near future. KPC previously received two warnings due to violating safety conditions in storing the fluorescent light tubes downstairs in the headquarters building as they are banned from doing so by KPC policy. 23

24 Pact signed to increase Urea production to 1.2 million tons in 2009 Mohammed Al-Enezi: We produce around one million metric tons of Urea in PIC 24 The Petrochemicals Industries Companies (PIC) has paid a lot of attention to Urea production, making it one of the first companies to establish a chemical fertilizer production complex in the Gulf region. PIC has managed to capture a large part the international market, which has encouraged it to develop its performance and improve the product, recently opening now factories for producing Urea, with a total capacity of around one million metric tons annually. In addition, 60% of the total production is exported to the American markets, while the rest is exported to the Australian and Middle East markets. KPC World Newsletter met with Eng. Mohammed Al-Enezi, the senior chairman of PIC s Urea Production Team, to find out the details about the kinds of chemical fertilizers PIC produces, the phases of production, the company's ability to develop this industry and the future of petrochemicals, in addition to discussing some other pivotal issues.

25 Al-Enezi explained that Kuwait s petrochemicals industry began in 1963 when the first complex for chemical fertilizer in Kuwait - and the Gulf area - was established to produce ammonia, Urea, sulfuric acid and ammonium. This industry has continued to develop till PIC possessed three factories to produce Urea with a capacity of 3,150 metric tons per day, two factories producing around 1,800 metric tons of ammonia and a factory producing the polypropylene, in addition to having shares in a number of specialist companies in the same field, such as Gulf Petrochemicals Industries Co. GPIC, Equate, ME Global, Equipolymers, Kuwait Olivenat Co. and the Kuwait Company for Aromatics and Styrene. Eng. Al-Enezi went on to explain that Urea is produced from the reaction of ammonia with carbon dioxide. It is considered one of the best solid fertilizers, being rich in Nitrogen and easily storable and transportable. In addition, the percentage of Nitrogen in the crystalline white pure Urea is around 46.4%. He added that PIC owns three factories which produce approximately one million metric tons of Urea annually; the first factory produces 1,750 tons per day and the other two produce 700 tons per day each. Urea is used as a fertilizer for crops and is one of the main substances used in industrializing formaldehyde. Two main ingredients are used in Urea production; ammonia and carbon dioxide, which are pressurized in high-pressure vessels. The industrialization process The industrialization of Urea is carried out through several phases; the first phase is through creating a reaction between ammonia and carbon dioxide, as follows: 2NH 3 + CO 2 NH 2 COONH 4 Ammonia Carbon dioxide Ammonium Carbanate NH 2 COONH 4 NH 2 CONH 2 + H 2 O Ammonium Carbamate Urea Water The second phase is the task of recovering the gases which did not properly react to re-industrialize them through the following phase of industrialization. The third phase is known as the vaporization' process, in which the Urea solution is moved to another unit to increase its concentration to 96%. After this, the melted Urea solution is pumped into a special unit in which it is converted into highly qualified granules of urea, then the white particles are moved to the granulation unit which is called the granular Urea. Following this step, the product is moved, after being cooled and dried in line with the international required specifications, through a group of straps to the depots in the company s Shipping and Export Dept. This is considered the last phase, after which the product is ready to be exported or used locally in the agricultural field. It is worth mentioning that a new unit was established in 2003, which helps reduce pollution and keep the environment clean. Urea sales in 2008/2009 Urea factories affiliated to PIC managed to produce around 938,000 metric tons of Urea in the fiscal year 2008/2009, meaning 102% of the approved production in the factories operational budget. 60% of the Urea produced was exported to the American market, while the remaining, 40%, was exported to other markets around the world. The aforementioned percentage proves that American consumers trust the quality of the Kuwaiti product which meets with international specifications. It is also exported to the Aus- 25

26 26 tralian market, as well as a number of markets in the Middle East. Fiscal year Production in tons Sales in tons , , , , , , , , , ,284 Talking about the global demand for Urea, Al- Enezi indicated that it reached around thirtyfour million tons in 2008, a decrease of 3.2 million tons compared to demand in This decrease was due to a reduction in crop prices in the agricultural countries, he pointed out, in addition to the impact of the international economic crisis which began during the last quarter of Although previous economic studies predicted a high demand for urea in 2009 equal to 1.2 million tons, prices may be unsettled this period. Sigma Six in Urea factories Aiming to improve efficiency, reduce expenditure and develop the work apparatus, PIC introduced the Sigma Six system in its factories. Two projects were achieved using the system within the 2008/2009 fiscal year of 2008/2009; the first project was to increase carbon dioxide pressures efficiency, while the second was to utilize well carbon dioxide which is used for industrializing Urea and limiting the emission of this gas into the environment. These two projects managed to save around one million dinars within that period. Tremendous efforts are also being exerted to reduce the use of Urea Formaldehyde, which is used essentially to increase the quality of the Urea. This project is expected to be completed within the third quarter of the 2009/2010 financial year, leading to savings of around KD 290,000 annually. Ammonia emissions Emphasizing that the new projects are to be carried out in the Urea factories, Al-Enezi revealed that on April 10, the company inaugurated its Urea Factory A, which is considered to be the biggest Urea production facility in PIC; a project that aims to get rid of ammonia and control the emissions of the substance from Urea factories. This reflects PIC s multiple and continuous contributions to protecting the environment, whether inside the factories or in the surrounding areas. It addition, PIC s Fertilizers Unit Operations took part in the Petrotech Conference 2008 in Bahrain, presenting a working paper about that issue at the event. A delegation from the Emirati FERTIL Company has also paid a visit to the location to assess the possibility of implementing the project in its Urea factories. Al-Enezi said that the team responsible for the project of getting rid of ammonia in Factory A faced numerous challenges until it managed to carry out the project and achieve its objectives, which are set out below: 1. To provide a work environment free from ammonia. 2. To limit ammonia emissions to neighboring companies and projects outside the company s sites which are still under construction. 3. To get rid of ammonia through recycling it in the Urea factories. There are two resources of ammonia emissions from the factories to the external atmosphere; 1. Continuous leaks from the ammonia storage units. 2. Broken equipment resulting in emissions escaping from the vents of safety ducts. A diagram of the Project and the Flare System in Factory (B)

27 Flare System In this phase, the team gets rid of the ammonia emissions by using a Flare System after separating the mixture of carbon dioxide, ammonia and water through using a Blow-off Separator to separate the gas and send it to the Flare System to get rid of it Online Analyzers Commenting on Urea Factory B, Al-Enezi said all the project s main goals have been accomplished; however, they are waiting for the experimental operation after the factories, which was suspended due to periodic maintenance, begin work. He revealed that the beginning of July has been allocated to carry out the experimental operation of the project in the presence of companies participating in manufacturing the units. In addition, the Granulation Unit s tower has been provided with three probes which work by using Laser to measure ammonia, Urea and formaldehyde emitted into the atmosphere. Moreover, these probes are linked to the control room and Environment Dept. to monitor the unit s outlets round the clock. 27

28 The second book issued about the leadership concept and its importance for the leader and his followers Sami Malallah: Some oil sector directors and chairpersons mold leadership and management into one form 28 The oil sector has recently undergone fundamental changes involving huge developments and expansion in various fields, especially leadership. For this purpose, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation s (KPC) department for developing leadership, in cooperation with the Vocational Training and Development sector, held three training workshops in March to develop the skills of the senior leadership figures within the company. The workshops included board chairpersons and managing directors at KPC and dealt with the concept of the leader and how to become a leader. Although there is a big difference between the concepts of leadership and management, some chairpersons and managers in the oil sector have successfully molded them into one form. At a time when there is no international formula for leadership, it still has common and similar styles and factors. Trying to describe the various leadership styles, Eng. Sami Malallah, the manager of Kuwait National Petroleum Company s (KNPC) Operations Department, issued a booklet in which he detailed the various leadership styles.

29 Charismatic leaders are attractive inspirations to their followers He listed five styles of leadership; transformational leadership, situational leadership, transactional leadership, servant leadership and charismatic leadership. In editing the booklet, Malallah used several studies and articles of scientific research dealing with the concept of leadership and its importance for a leader and his followers. KPC World newsletter met with Malallah to obtain a detailed explanation of the various leadership styles he outlined in his booklet, in addition to discussing with him the similarities and differences between them and defining the concept of leadership and leader. Malallah first explained that there is more than one definition of a leader; generally, this is the person who has influence and control and in the commercial dictionary the leader is defined as a person who has a high degree of control and influence over others. Moreover, the leader needs a group of followers to lead. He also should have a vision which is the non-material incentive to communicate to his followers; however, he needs to express himself simply and clearly straightforward to enable his followers to understand his vision and to believe in what he wants to achieve through that vision. The goals of the vision Vision tops the strategic pyramid of goals that the administration of international companies aims at achieving. Among them are the following: 1. To redesign the workplace to accommodate changes. 2. To replace old equipment in order to create new products. 3. To train followers to gain new skills for new tasks. 4. To change the rules and instructions. Talking about leadership styles, Malallah explained that there are five styles of leaderships as follows: A. Transformational leadership Malallah revealed that transformational leadership was first introduced by academic James M. Burns in According to this theory, leaders directs their followers to solve their organizations problems and improve their businesses by changing the way they look at the problem; this kind of leader motivates his followers to carry out his vision. In 2008, academic Gholamreza Jandaghi explained the theory of transformational leadership as being a dynamic and complex process through which leaders influence their followers' values, beliefs and targets. In addition, changes in followers' behavior cause a change in leaders' behavior. In accordance with Clawson s definition in this regard, transformational leaders share the following common characteristics: 1. They change their methods. 2. They are daring but not careless. 3. They trust their followers and facilitate their requirements. 4. They originate a set of values and principles for themselves and their followers. 5. They are open to new ideas and willing to think. 6. They are rationalists. 7. They trust their intuitions. Furthermore, transformational leadership has four factors known as the four of Khatri and Clawson, which are: Idealistic influence or charisma since the leader uses his charisma and his social skills to appeal to his followers to win their trust. 29

30 30 Inspirational motivation which alerts the followers to the visible and invisible problems they face. Transformational leaders here use metaphors, slogans and examples to encourage their followers to examine their problems from a different angle. Individualized consideration as the leader supports his followers by guidance, motivation and encouragement, in addition to teaching them how to develop themselves through listening to their wishes and dreams. Intellectual stimulation through which the leader assists his followers to use their creative ideas to think about their existing problems and change old ideas. B. Situational leadership This style of leadership is preferred by consultants and other experts as it showcases various techniques and can be applied to almost all situations. However, each situation depends upon the guidance and support needed from the leader to carry out the task. Situational leadership is divided into four parts as follows: Charismatic leader has eagerness and energy 1. The leader should delegate the task to his followers through providing them with guidance and support; however, this section includes the best employees in terms of experience and willingness to work. 2. The leader engages in the task, shares ideas and supports the decision-making process after informing his followers of what is required to perform the task. 3. The leader should motivate his followers and explain his vision and ideas to them, in addition to giving them the opportunity of further clarification. 4. The leader should provide specific information or instructions to willing followers, such as those who are eager to implement the task, who may not know how to carry it out, meaning that they need the leader's guidance and supervision. C. Transactional leadership This is based on a relationship of exchange between the leader and his followers. This leadership style benefits both the leader and his followers as the latter exchange their obedience and loyalty with the apparent benefits from the leader's guidance. The leader here will have access to implementing tangible and intangible reward mechanisms; for instance avoid punishment' as a means of stimulating his followers in case the task was not accomplished. The leader shoulders the responsibility of redirecting his followers to attain the desired goal through providing the necessary resources for training and guidance. This leadership style has four factors; 1. The contingent reward: To use incentives and rewards to encourage the followers to perform the wanted tasks. 2. Passive management: The leader may use punishment or threaten to apply it to limit undesired variations in followers' performance. 3. Active management: The leader here examines followers' performance and searches for any violations in their performance. 4. Laissez-faire leadership is a ''no leadership'' method; in case the leader cannot manage his followers, he has to deputize another person to

31 do so, although this may lead to ignoring problems when they occur. D. Charismatic leadership The leader using this style has magnetic charisma that radiates eagerness and energy to his followers. In addition, they are attracted to him; however, when losing such a leader, disorientation will take place in the organization he belongs to. The charismatic leader, according to the view of Judge and Bono, should be ethical and self-confident as he is carrying out an unusual mission. Charismatic leaders are sensitive and masters of establishing successful social relationships. There is a difference between charismatic leaders and other leaders in terms of their ability to simplify their ideas and convey their vision to followers, through which they gain their follwers trust and belief. The charismatic leader has main characteristics such as: 1. He is able to create and adopt a new vision, even one wholly contrary to the existing position. 2. He can introduce unusual strategies to implement the proposed vision and come up with exceptional ideas. 3. He shoulders personal responsibility to achieve the vision and opts to sacrifice his self-interest. 4. He is able to carry out the tasks and is always confident. There is no international definition for leadership, yet it has similar styles and factors 5. He is able to persuade his followers without using power. E. Servant leadership The leader using this style is a humble person who leads his followers through serving, assisting and supporting them to reach the desired vision. The servant leader uses his power to help his followers as he has good listening and communications skills, which enable him to articulate the problems he faces; in addition, he studies his followers and figures out their needs, then exerts tremendous efforts to satisfy and meet those needs. He should stand by them whenever they need support. The servant leader accepts the position not because he is looking for it but for the benefit he will provide to his organization. In addition, servant leadership is extremely successful and ideal for static, not-for-profit organizations, whose staff are mostly composed of volunteers and people seeking opportunities for self-development. In conclusion, Eng. Malallah said it is possible to use all the aforementioned styles of leadership in all circumstances and situations as all of them are similar in two factors; the first one is that most of the leadership theories call for the same personal characteristics in one integrated style which is how to take charge of a situation. Furthermore, each of the leadership styles among those listed above is ideal in various situations and cultures. Transactional leadership, for instance, is ideal for organizations run through power since the followers exchange their obedience and loyalty for the benefits they receive from their chairperson. Meanwhile, the best use of the charismatic leadership style is in encouraging staff and making them gather around a beloved, charismatic person. It seems that the situational leadership style is the most popular and is preferred by consultants and training specialists, although it is hard to perform and assess. Another factor to take into consideration is that all leadership theories include almost the same characteristics for a leader; e.g. his ability to create a vision and convey it to his followers, in addition to supporting them in achieving it. 31

32 KNPC launches No Name No Blame Behavior Based Safety (BBS) campaign Fahad Al-Dehani: BBS campaign has accomplished its targets and we seek further progress The campaign depends mainly upon observation, in addition to correcting workers' unintentionally mistaken behavior, which can have a negative impact. KNPC launched its BBS campaign under the slogan No Name, No Blame' four years ago so as to reduce the number of accidents and injuries sustained by personnel in KNPC s various facilities. KPC World interviewed KPC's manager of Safety, Health and Environment Eng. Fahad Al-Dehani to shed light on the campaign s program, its basic points and how the idea for the campaign first emerged, in addition to the benefits achieved. 32 Firstly, Al-Dehani said, ensuring correct behavior is one of the most important elements in avoiding the occurrence of accidents; it is element no. 9 of the 14-element SH&E Management System (SHEMS). In accordance with studies concerning the accidents that took place in the Local Marketing department in 2004, Al-Dehani said they noticed most of these accidents, which happened in various KNPC facilities, were related to behavior; this was the reason for KNPC s adoption of the BBS campaign, which aims to improve staff members behavior. Al-Dehani said they deduced an important result after analyzing studies and analy-

33 ses conducted by specialists from KNPC, clarifying that it would be possible to reduce the occurrence of accidents if the team managed to improve workers behavior and help them avoid dangerous actions. He explained that in October, 2004, KNPC sought the assistance of an international specialist company in the field of Behavior Science Technology to establish the basis and criteria of the campaign's program to be implemented in all the various KNPC facilities, in addition to confirming the required tools and working out how to analyze the recommendations that resulted from supervising the program's implementation. Al-Dehani said the four-yearcontract KNPC signed with the international company is based on two phases; the first phase, which lasted for three years, included the program's foundation, the ways of applying it and how to follow up the Kuwaiti coordinators' performance, while in the second phase which lasted for one year, the international company was tasked only with observing the performance of the Kuwaiti coordinators and observers and their management of the program. Al-Dehani stressed the slogan No Name No Blame' means there is no need to know an employee s name or even the nature of their work or its location, adding that no accusations will be addressed to anyone; the objective of the campaign, he explained, is to identify the errant behavior that the employee commits unintentionally during his work in order to deal with it properly. Asked about the method used in implementing the campaign, Al-Dehani indicated that observation is key to the BBS campaign s implementation, with one staff member observing the performance of a colleague for three to five minutes; after that, the observer discusses with the observed employee the dangerous behavior which they committed based on a model prepared in advance. The observer has to write a report about his colleague s performance and behavior during the period of observation, in addition to assessing his commitment to safety procedures. The reports are then collected monthly 33

34 34 for more analysis to focus on the elements that should be developed since workers are interested in completing their duties very quickly, with some ignoring the need to wear protective glasses or earmuffs. These recommendations are then forwarded for more discussion to provide the required alternatives. He indicated that the program will be utilized with all KNPC staff members even the contractors working with KNPC, emphasizing there will be more focus on the onsite laborers as their lives are much more at risk than other staff members. He said the program has been listed in the balanced performance index related to safety to be assessed monthly by the board chairman. In response to an inquiry about staff interaction with the campaign, Al-Dehani said the workers interaction with the campaign four years ago was not very remarkable as they were not really committed to observing safe behavior at work; however, he continued, staff members have subsequently become more familiar with the need for safe behavior, which has reflected positively on the quality of work, in addition to reducing the number of injuries and accidents. Al-Dehani revealed the program is evaluated by a committee headed by the Operations' manager with the help of one of the coordinators. In addition, the committee issues monthly reports about the effectiveness of the program in terms of accomplishing the required objectives, as well as the tangible improvements in the facilities and recommendations to be considered during the coming period. He added that staff members complaints will be evaluated in order to provide solutions for them, indicating that there were numerous complaints about the work shoes provided; in response to these, KNPC signed a contract with an international shoe-manufacturing company to provide comfortable workplace footwear for its staff members. Indicating that the program is to be introduced on a permanent basis in a step aiming to improve work performance and reduce risks as much as possible, Al-Dehani revealed that KNPC has been conducting training courses for new staff members to teach them the program and its objectives in order to ensure their commitment. It is an integral part of changing the current culture of the personnel at all KNPC's facilities, he said. Moreover, since its introduction, the program has become a core element of KNPC s training program schedule, especially given the visible success which it has achieved during its first four years. Encouragement Al-Dehani indicated that KNPC s senior administration is keen on encouraging the employees who show commitment to implementing the program through providing them with gifts and certificates of appreciation. In addition, it also encourages the observers and coordinators, who exert tremendous efforts and provide ideas aiming to develop the program. Stressing that KNPC will not penalize staff members who do not exert much effort in this regard, Al-Dahani said that KNPC will instead motivate them, possibly by holding some kind of competition among the observers, which will positively reflect on the KNPC's positive workplace ethos. The program has, therefore, been flexibly designed to

35 enable KNPC to add or omit whatever ideas or recommendations it views as appropriate in line with any new developments. In this regard, the BBS program has been introduced to the drivers within the company by informing them about safe driving methods and assessing whether or not they are driving their vehicles safely. Safe behavior and society In response to an inquiry about the influence of the BBS program on Kuwaiti society, Al-Dehani explained that KNPC is not a separate entity from the rest of society; on the contrary, he said, its personnel are Kuwaitis and residents, members of society who interact directly with other individuals belonging to various parts of society. Therefore, he added, if they manage to successfully implement the program at their facilities, this will reflect positively on the society they live in. He revealed that KNPC trains its staff members to follow up the workplace program in their personal lives, so this will also have a positive effect on their families and society if they comply with its regulations during their daily life; thus the impact of safe behavior will be extended from KNPC into the outside society. The program will also be implemented with contractors working with KNPC, with the observers' team examining their equipment and their compliance with safety procedures. In addition, a team of observers will train contractors' employees in how to follow up safe behavior. Highlighting the obstacles impeding the implementation of the BBS program, Al- Dehani said it is necessary to recognize the nature of dangerous facilities and how to deal with accidents that take place there because some workers lack the experience of how to deal with the location where they work since they may be used to carrying out their work in a certain way regardless of whether or not it is wrong. Talking about responsibility at work, Al-Dehani said this is divided into two parts; a responsibility for performance evaluation and the partial work, and those aspects related to effort and production. He added that the design and position of the work environment should be safe and suitable for providing a safe environment for personnel, in addition to the equipment being used. He said there are differences between staff members in terms of performing their work safely, which resulted from realizing the importance of safe practices, with this understanding differing from one individual to another. The personal culture of the employee is one of the main elements in this issue concerning the principles and efforts exerted to positively change any negative or personal behavior the employee might have acquired while performing his duties, added Al-Dehani. The idea for the program was first submitted by KPC s Health, Safety and Environment Committee among a number of programs proposed. Furthermore, the idea has been praised by all the chairpersons of the oil companies' sectors; therefore KNPC seeks to provide support to all the companies wishing to utilize the program as the company hopes to occupy a leading position in the field of health, safety and the environment. 35

36 Overseas certificate awarded to 28 Kuwaiti captains 36 The manpower element of KOC is considered the renewable balance and the most decisive factor in the implementation of the continuous development proposals, which aim to confront the massive challenges in the fields of discovery, development and production. From this viewpoint KOC has prioritized its various training programs. which are designed to develop staff members' abilities. Among the training programs that KOC has focused on is a recently introduced one for the renewal of around 28 of KOC s Kuwaiti captains international vessels captaincy certification. This program also incorporates health, physical fitness and cultural activities, and is delivered under the supervision of trainers from the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT) in Alexandria, Egypt. Due to the program s crucial importance, KPC World has interviewed a number of ships captains to find out more about the course, its significance and its role in cultivating and developing Kuwaiti captains abilities. The first interview was held with Captain Mohee Al-Deen Zakariya who is one of the course's coordinators between the Marine Operations Team and the Training and Vocational Development Group, KPC and the AASTMT. Talking about the preparations for the course, Zakariya said it had taken around eight months to coordinate with the concerned authorities to confirm the number of participants taking each course, their names, the number of teaching hours and the content of each course in line with the International Marine Organization s (IMO) legislation, its accords and decisions. He also revealed that the course organizers had coordinated with both KOC s firefighting team and Ahmadi Hospital, in addition to reaching an agreement with a local marine club to run these courses there.

37 He added that these exhaustive measures were aimed at convincing the Egyptian Marine Safety Authority to finalize all the courses, especially the practical aspects and the medical check-ups for trainees, in addition to removing all the difficulties they might face in order to run training program round the clock. During the six-month training program held in Kuwait, the captains were working for an average of eight hours per day, with a further four-anda-half hours allocated to study the course, added Zakariya. He went on to say that the real challenge during these courses was to successfully manage the various specifications of the captains and marine guides work under the usual shifts system and those who work in accordance with the On order' system. He explained that the training program incorporated six relevant courses, as follows: A course for updating knowledge This course included studying and following up all the new developments related to the marine transport industry which took place over the past five years in modern naval systems, marine laws and accords whether new or modified, in addition to the treaties and regulations of freight and unloading, etc. An advanced course for personal safety, search and rescue: This course shed light on all the new developments or the modified visions related to personal safety on the ships concerning equipments and persons. It also spotlighted the methods of search and rescue using satellites, international means of help etc. An advanced course for preventing and controlling fires: This course highlighted the means of updating informa- tion, studying the Code, the international requirements of safety systems against fires on ships, oil tankers and gas. The course was followed by a practical drill on controlling tanker fires. A medical studies course: This course aimed at updating the information related to medical and health awareness, providing first aid for crew members of the ship as the captain is the concerned medical official on board, in addition to one of the officers. It trained the captains in how to administer first aid to any injured person in case of any accidents or emergencies, while making it clear that medical assistance after that is to be summoned from land using modern communications systems and satellites. Social responsibilities course: During this course, the captain is taught his responsibilities towards all the crew members on the tanker or ship, in addition to studying the rules and regulations of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and IMO to solve the crew's problems or any incident the ship may face. A course on preventing and controlling marine pollution: This course underlined the latest means, equipment, technology and methods for controlling marine pollution, overlapping coastal and international waters and the laws regarding this issue. It also focused on civil compensation 37

38 38 pacts for any losses resulting from such pollution. In addition, the course stresses the importance of maintaining the marine environment and spotlights the penalties stated in the international accords in this domain. Stressing the importance of the training program for KOC captains, the Marine Operations Team Chairman, Captain/Khalid Al-Ahmad, said this certificate is an international one and is renewed every five years, adding that a captain cannot accomplish his duties without it. He added that KOC had organized a seven-month training program for around 28 captains due to the certificate's importance. He clarified that during the first week to the captains underwent medical examinations in the AASTWT headquarters in Alexandria, with the association being the only official authority accredited by the IMO to grant this certificate in the Arab region, indicating the captains were instructed in the correct methods of using imitative systems. He revealed that the remaining six weeks of the course were held in the Oil Training Center affiliated to KPC, except the practical part represented by search and rescue drills which were held in the Sports Coastal Club, and the fire control drill, which was held in the Burgan Fire Center. In the fire control drill, two courses were held each day in the center; one in the morning and the other in the evening, to avoid the need to suspend marine operations. He added that all the captains attended the course without causing any negative impact to marine operations, or those exporting raw oil or the various kinds of oil derivatives. Asked about the objective of the training course, Al-Ahmad indicated that the IMO has implemented a number of criteria which must be met in order for the marine certificates to be awarded to the marine guides; among these are the necessity of renewing these certificates every five years. He added that KOC held this program to renew the marine certificates for another five years to cope with the IMO requirements and criteria since the marine certificates were previously renewed after the guides passed the previous training course held in At the end of his speech, Captain/Al-Ahmad hailed the continuous efforts and patronage provided by KPC to all its subsidiary sectors and thanked the company s senior administration for its concern for Marine Operations. Revealing that KOC captains are tasked with guiding and anchoring all the oil ships in Ahmadi Port, Captain Lavi Al-Mortaj a Marine Operations team member, said that the captain's certificate must be valid to achieve this task, therefore KOC had to hold a training course to develop its captains abilities and familiarize them with the most advanced marine regulations approved worldwide, in addition to highlighting the inclusive and various information included in the program. He said the training program has qualified the captains to renew their certification, which is considered to be the international labor license, adding that the trainees received their

39 training from efficient and highly qualified trainers. For his part, Marine Export Operations Manager Eng. Fadhel Bourisli said that KOC s training program is one of the most important programs run by the company, adding that KOC is interested in developing and training its personnel and improving their collective performance, especially that of the captains and marine guide staff who are the first employees to receive ships and oil tankers entering Kuwaiti waters. This necessitates improving their performance, health, safety and environmental performance, in addition to reducing the number of marine accidents, including those involving equipment and individuals. Prior preparation The senior training commander Sadeq Abdulghani, meanwhile, confirmed that the course had been successfully finalized due to the fruitful cooperation between the Marine Operations team, the Training and Vocational Development group and the Vocational Development and Planning team, indicating that the preparation period took eight months, during which the concerned authorities coordinated with the Oil Training Center affiliated to Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) to provide classrooms for the theoretical parts of the courses, while the practical part of each course was conducted in KOC's facilities at Burgan Fire Station and Al-Sahel Sports Club after coordinating with the club's management to reserve the Olympic swimming pool for the practical training, especially for the advanced course related to personal safety, search and rescue. Moreover, he said, all the trainees performed the exercises successfully and efficiently. Furthermore, the former manager of the Marine and Export Operation group, Captain Khalifa Al-Duaij, who is now Marine and Export Operations Consultant (West Kuwait directorate), stated in his keynote speech that this is the second time they have successively renewed this certification. He added that the training program and its various and multiple courses have covered all the necessary theoretical and practical aspects and all the subjects required by a captain to perfectly complete his duties. Also, he said, the courses provided all the requirements of Marine Operations needed by marine guides for accomplishing their work in a faultless manner. He went on to say that the course had renewed some information for them and equipped them with knowledge about the most up-to-date systems with the latest functions, as well as rescue operations. He added that the theoretical study part of the course lasted for six weeks, through which they discussed the latest developments in the marine sciences. Practically, the captains were involved in a fake accident to assess their abilities to handle it, Al-Duaij revealed, adding that they also discussed some common errors, marine accidents and how to avoid making such mistakes. 39

40 KPC Strives to Become a Regional Leader in Health, Safety and Environment Submit press releases, news items, story ideas, attendance at conferences and symposia, reports on visiting dignitaries and letters to the Editorial Team at the Media Relations Department. Reproduction in any form is prohibited without prior written permission from the Editor in Chief of KPC World. P.O. Box: 26565, Safat, Kuwait - Fax: (+965) media@kpc.com.kw - Website: