U.N. MISSION REPORT CONFIRMS KUWAIT'S INDUSTRY IS IN TATTERS

July 15, 1991
A detailed assessment of damage to Kuwait's oil operations by a United Nations mission to the country in April confirms that the once prosperous oil sector is reduced to shambles. At the time of the visit, part of an assessment of the total damage to the Kuwaiti infrastructure, 550 of Kuwait's 980 active wells were ablaze. When the Wafrah area of the Neutral Zone was taken into account, the number of active wells rose to 1,330, of which about 700 were on fire.

A detailed assessment of damage to Kuwait's oil operations by a United Nations mission to the country in April confirms that the once prosperous oil sector is reduced to shambles.

At the time of the visit, part of an assessment of the total damage to the Kuwaiti infrastructure, 550 of Kuwait's 980 active wells were ablaze. When the Wafrah area of the Neutral Zone was taken into account, the number of active wells rose to 1,330, of which about 700 were on fire.

Many other wells not on fire were spewing tens of thousands of barrels of oil a day, flooding the desert and creating lakes and rivers of oil.

The mission also assessed Kuwait's refining and gas industries.

The 370,000 b/d Mina Al-Ahmadi, 187,000 b/d Shuaiba, and 190,000 b/d Mina Abdullah refineries showed varying degrees of damage. All were inoperable. Getty Oil Co.'s 72,000 b/d Mina Al-Zour refinery in the Neutral Zone was heavily damaged.

Determining the number of damaged wells was difficult, said the report, because a number of areas were not safe to enter. However, a helicopter survey of Magwa and Ahmadi fields in the Greater Burgan area showed only five of 239 wells were free of damage.

A number of wells were flowing water mixed with oil and gas, turning the smoke from black soot to a gray mixture of soot and steam. Pressure in the reservoirs was dropping.

To determine the extent of damage to reservoirs, simulation models must be developed, said the report. Such models have been made for all Kuwait Oil Co. fields and can be readily adapted to analyze present problems.

The mission estimated the cost of replacing a well 3,400-9,000 ft deep will be as much as $1.5 million. For deeper wells, the cost will be as much as $5 million. Most wells in Greater Burgan and Wafrah fields are completed at 3,400-4,700 ft, while in the northern and western areas they are 7,000-11,000 ft deep.

There were also 681 wells-550 in Wafrah and 131 in other areas-and gathering stations that were intact and could be brought back on stream quickly.

At the end of April the mission estimated 50,000 b/d could be achieved within 2 months and 150,000 b/d within 6 months. Those figures depend on removal of bottlenecks downstream from the wells, the mission said.

GATHERING STATIONS

KOC operates 26 gathering stations, with another main station and 23 substations in the Neutral Zone outside its jurisdiction. Of the 26 stations, costing about $200 million each, the mission could determine the condition of only about half because smoke, fire, mines, and unexploded ordnance prevented surveys by foot or helicopter.

Eight of the 13 stations surveyed were heavily damaged. One near the crest of Greater Burgan field, "where smoke and fire conditions are infernal," was considered representative of another seven.

Of the remaining five stations visited, three were out of commission because either their tanks or control rooms were heavily damaged. The mission estimated 31-58% of the stations were severely damaged, for a total loss of $1.6-3 billion, and 12% could not be operated.

The mission also said other facilities downstream of wells operated by KOC were heavily damaged. These included various manifolds, two tank farms, pipelines to refineries and off loading facilities as well as crude export facilities.

The central mixing manifold was heavily damaged, but the filling manifolds for the south and north tank farms were intact.

Storage units also were badly damaged. Of the 35 tanks in the south tank farm used mainly to serve the refineries, 14 tanks were destroyed and two were damaged. The unit's capacity of 6 million bbl had been reduced by about 3.3 million bbl. It is connected to the northern tank farm and crude export facilities through a spur manifold.

In the 8 million bbl, 24 tank, northern tank farm, capacity was reduced by about 3.7 million bbl by the loss of eight tanks and damage to one other. This unit is mainly dedicated to offloading crude for export. The two loading manifolds, downstream from the tank farms, were said to have been destroyed by allied precision bombing to stem the large volumes of crude that were being released into the Persian Gulf.

Summing up, the report said KOC operations had been strangled because at the end of April no oil could enter the system and no oil, even if available, could leave it.

The stranglehold was aggravated by destruction of crude export facilities.

It also pointed out that rehabilitation will be lengthy because most KOC employees fled Kuwait during the occupation, leaving a workforce of about 1,400 persons-28% of its normal level.

DAMAGE TO REFINERIES

Kuwait National Petroleum Co. (KNPC) shut down its Mina Al-Ahmadi, Mina Abdulla, and Shuaiba refineries quickly Aug. 2, 1990, the day of the Iraqi invasion. Mina Al-Ahmadi was brought back on line the next month to meet Iraqi military requirements and local demand for gasoline. Production averaged about 75,000 b/d until mid-month last January when it was shut down again.

Overall damage to Mina Al-Ahmadi is relatively light.

The control room for the crude distillation unit in the old section of the refinery was slightly damaged, and collateral damage was inflicted to the distillation tower. The distillation column in the unit's further upgrading project was damaged but appeared operational. A largely unsuccessful attempt was made to blow up the control room for the reformers. There also was minor damage to the refinery's tank farm.

Mina Abdullah received greater damage. Although the main refining components remained untouched, three areas were destroyed. The control room was devastated by explosive charges. This contained state of the art computer equipment worth an estimated $150 million, including a PMX3-45000 computer and a TDC-3000 control system. The software was lost.

Eight to 10 satellite controls rooms for various operating units appeared to have escaped major damage and could substitute for the central control room. But the areas were not visited because clearance was not received from explosives disposal teams.

The refinery also lost the 20,000 hp pump station that moved products to the sea island for export. Pumps for the interrefinery transfer system were destroyed, along with sections of pipeline and parts of the line to the sea island.

Other damage included 7,000-10,000 tons of petroleum coke smoldering because the water cooling system was inoperative. About 2 km of the 3 km coke conveyor belt was destroyed by fire. One of the three water treatment skimming ponds was lost, along with fire pumps at the small boat harbor.

Damage to the 68 product storage tanks with capacity of about 15 million bbl was slight. Four had floating roofs sunk, and one had its roof blown off.

At the Shuaiba refinery, the distillation column and its associated pipework were damaged by fire. The isomax unit was damaged and an electrical power substation was blown up, causing some damage to an isocracker, a compressor, and an emergency generator. Damage may be light, but that cannot be confirmed until an attempt is made to restart the units.

Of Shuaiba's 84 product storage tanks, with total capacity of 12 million bbl, five, with a capacity of 1.26 million bbl, were destroyed. Nineteen other tanks were reported to have been used by Iraqi troops for target practice. One was so riddled with bullet holes it may be unusable.

The report said although some of the visible damage to refineries may be superficial, internal damage may be major.

Mina Abdullah and Shuaiba were shut down in a few hours, and normal week-long closure procedures could not be carried out. This may have caused major internal damage to equipment, catalysts, pipes, brickwork, pumps, and vessels and could result in costly repair and delays in resuming operations.

The report pointed out that a refinery laying idle for a considerable period may develop problems even it has not been damaged. It was impossible to appraise this likely damage because the refineries had neither the power nor crude oil to start operations at the time of the mission's tour.

KNPC now has only 700 employees, less than 10% of the original payroll.

PORT FACILITIES

The mission said the stranglehold on the Kuwaiti industry was completed by systematic destruction of port facilities and offloading facilities for crude, refined products, and LPG.

The north oil loading pier was not damaged, but all onshore crude offloading facilities were destroyed. Lines for exporting products survived and are now used for importing products.

A 100 m long hole was blown in the south pier, and all pipelines were destroyed. The sea island crude export terminal was destroyed, along with facilities to control a single point mooring that survived.

The Shuaiba pier was damaged in three places. One section collapsed and severed pipelines about 1 km from shore. Detailed inspection was not possible because the area had not been cleared of explosives.

The sea island off Mina Abdullah was not approached for the same reason, but a view from the air showed that superficially it was in good conditions. However, pipelines from the refinery have been destroyed.

GAS LOSSES

Production of LPG and natural gas has come to a halt. Most of the natural gas is burning or escaping from damaged wells.

Of four compressor stations, one in western Kuwait was destroyed and another in northern Kuwait was severely damaged. One of the two stations in Southeast Kuwait was slightly damaged, and the other appeared to be in good condition.

Kuwaitis use large amounts of bottled LPG for cooking. The LPG plant and associated bottling unit were intact, but 40,000 LPG cylinders and 45,000 regulators were looted and allegedly removed to Iraq.

The only pipeline for importing LPG has been blown up. This was also used for exports. The only source of this fuel is now imported by tank trucks aboard dry cargo ships.

Of the 81 gasoline service stations in the country, six were destroyed. The rest showed damage to as much as 50% of aboveground facilities.

Kuwait did not have an extensive petrochemical industry. Petrochemical Industries Co. operated a fertilizer plant and a salt and chlorine unit. Many key components in the fertilizer plant were removed and allegedly transported to Iraq, and much of the remainder has been damaged. Stocks worth $12.6 million also were taken to Iraq.

A $1.8 million ammonia recovery unit and a new $2.3 million hydrogen recovery unit installed in 1990 were uprooted from their foundations and reportedly transported to Iraq, This reduced capacity of the ammonia plant by 86% and the urea plant by 74%.

Other damage to petrochemical units included the looting of 240 chlorine filled cylinders worth $3,000 each. All major units were removed from a melamine plant.

All offices were looted of electrical equipment such as the latest desk top computers, photocopiers, fax machines, and other office equipment. Anything left was vandalized.

Cranes, a fleet of vehicles, tug boats and pilot boats, radio equipment, and the inventory of a lube plant worth $66 million were removed.

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