Kuwait Oil Company

G-ASTRONOMIC ACHIEVEMENTS

Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) is a leading explorer, exporter and producer of oil and gas in the State of Kuwait. With almost 90 years’ experience, the company operates all oil and Gas fields in the state of Kuwait. It has been a committed subsidiary of the Kuwait Petroleum Company (KPC), a government-run, nationwide oil organisation, since 1980. Manager Gas Operations Group, Mr Hamad Rashed Al-Zuwayer, spoke about Kuwait Oil Company business and specifically focus on Gas Operations Group’s progress over the past five years and its continuous efforts for improvement, in conversation with Phil Nicholls and Imogen Ward.

Established in 2004, KOC’s Gas Operations Group operates and maintains seven Gas Booster Stations and more than 380 pipelines that span an impressive 4,800km within the State of Kuwait.

With 2,280 workers under its name, 670 of whom are full-time KOC employees, Gas Operations Group is proud to operate 24 hours a day, ensuring the very best service for all of its consumers such as Electrical Power Stations of the Ministry of Electricity, Water & Renewal Energy (MEW) and other Kuwait Petroleum Company (KPC) subsidiaries. These services include operations, maintenance, sampling, pigging, accounting and more.

When discussing KOC’s capabilities, Mr Al-Zuwayer, Manager Gas Operations Group said: “Our main objective is to ensure continuous supply, without any interruptions, of rich gas, condensate, and fuel to all consumers, such as K-Company Refineries, power stations of the Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewal Energ y (MEW&RE) of the state of Kuwait and other small customers from the private sector. Because of this, we are in a very close relationship with our customers, checking in on them regularly with important updates.”

This commitment to customers is reflected throughout KOC’s operations. Mentioning customer focus in its 2040 Strategy, KOC hopes to continue providing excellence to all, striving to enhance customer relationships indefinitely.

The company’s 2040 goals are outlines for what it hopes to achieve within the next 18 years. These include specific expansion goals and a focus on customer relations, all of which align perfectly with the predominant aims of parent company, KPC.

Ingenious investment

It has been five years since our last interview with KOC. During this time, the company has been extremely busy implementing new projects to achieve its main goal of increased gas production levels and emissions reduction. Looking back over this time, Mr Al-Zuwayer said: “We’ve been very busy over the past five years and have achieved some very remarkable feats.”

In 2018, KOC commissioned the Gas Booster Station 171. This houses the latest innovative gas technology, improving KOC’s oil and gas production levels tenfold and reducing gas flaring. Located in the west of Kuwait, KOC hoped to utilise this station to pioneer the oil and gas industry through the optimisation of hydrocarbon values.

Ever-expanding, the company also commissioned new Gathering Centres in North Kuwait GC-29, GC-30 and GC-31 as well as the new Gathering Centre in the South of Kuwait – GC-32. This growth draws KOC closer to its own 2040 goals, and the overarching objectives of KPC.

The company also plans to continue expansion of its Jurassic Production Facilities (JPFs). In the past five years, it has successfully commissioned three of these facilities at North Kuwait (JPF-1, 2 &3), which are now fully operational. The completion of these Mr

Hamad Rashed Al-Zuwayer

facilities increases the company’s production capacity, enabling them to process and treat even more hydrocarbons from KOC’s oil and gas fields.

KOC recently supported the commission of Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company’s (KIPIC) al-Zour LNGI terminal. Now fully operational, (capacity 3,000 BBTU/day), this terminal is considered an additional fuel gas supply source to satisfy the growing fuel gas demand of Kuwait consumers.

With the aim of increasing and improving the State of Kuwait’s oil and gas production, KOC is also having a positive impact on the local area. The citizens of Kuwait have benefitted from the influx of job opportunities. This focus on localisation is important to KOC, with customers and the community central elements of its philosophy.

In relation to Gas Operations Group’s progress, Mr Al-Zuwayer said: “We are responsible for handling Kuwait Oil Company’s Gas from upstream production facilities up to downstream fuel Consumers Networks. KOC supplies the major consumers in Kuwait, such as K-Company Refineries, power stations of the Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewal Energy (MEW&RE) of the state of Kuwait. We have continued to expand our business, taking on more responsibility each time.”

He highlighted that during the past five years, KOC extended its services and support to other Kuwait Petroleum Company (KPC) subsidiaries. KOC achieved successful commissioning of large-scale projects, which have contributed to expanding the fuel infrastructure at the state of Kuwait, such as New Trains (4&5) at Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) plant and New Acid Gas Removal Plant (AGRP).

Top-notch technical conference

Mr Al-Zuwayer, the Chairman of the GPA (Gas Processors Association - Gulf Council Chapter), valued KOC support of the GPA-GCC by hosting the 28th Annual GPA-GCC Technical conference (18th Sept 2022). The event was under the title:

“Natural Gas Value Chain Opportunities and Challenges”. Originally scheduled in March 2020, the event was postponed to September 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Despite the delay, over 1,400 people participated, which was the highest ever attendee figure in the GPA-GCC history. Originally believing the pandemic could inhibit attendance, this impressive feat completely exceeded the committee’s expectations. Fresh off the back of this success, GPA-GCC is now planning the next conference – scheduled for May 2023 in Muscat, Oman.

“We were one of the earliest supporters of this non-profit organisation,” Mr Al-Zuwayer said, “and we are proud to have hosted this year’s event. It was also one of the first events to have taken place in the State of Kuwait following the start of the pandemic.”

The event featured several industry specialists including representatives from NOCs, IOCs, and local contractors known for their expertise in the oil and gas industry. The topics at this year’s conference varied greatly; one prominent feature was the issue of gas flaring, specifically focused on the best ways to further improve emission levels.

Focus on flare reductions

Previously gaining several awards for its efforts on the reduction of gas flaring, KOC have a history of working hard to become a more sustainable company. The company is a member of the World Bank Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership (GGFR), which aims to end routine gas flaring at gas production sites by 2030.

KOC endeavoured to reduce its gas flaring, the company is proud to be one of the earliest in the region to successfully reduce these rates. Minimising levels to less than 0.5%, KOC courageously continues to set an example of sustainability for other oil and gas companies.

“We are really proud of this achievement,” Mr Al-Zuwayer concluded, “and we are continuing to minimise our gas flaring as much as possible.”