Bechtel Corp. has disclosed more details of the massive 2 year effort to restore Kuwait's petroleum industry.

Bechtel last month completed a project management contract for Kuwait Oil Co. (KOC) in which it helped kill 751 wild wells-647 of which had been set ablaze-caused by Iraqi sabotage and helped restore KOC productive capacity to about 2.1 million b/d.

Bechtel accomplished the daunting task with a two phase plan carried out by an international workforce of more than 16,000, which mobilized 742 aircraft and ships to move more than 520,000 tons of equipment and materials into Kuwait. More than 5,800 pieces of operating equipment from 12 countries were shipped to Kuwait for the job.

In phase one of the project, called Al Awda--that's Arabic for "the return"--Bechtel devised an unprecedented emergency program to regain control of damaged wells in some of the world's largest oil fields and halt destruction being caused to Kuwait's environment. Phase two of the program, Al Tameer--Arabic for "the reconstruction"--focused on rehabilitating oil field gathering and processing installations.

Don Gunther, Bechtel executive vice-president in charge of the company's operations in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia, said the remarkable industrial achievement was a tribute to Kuwait's determination and the courage and tenacity of Bechtel's international workforce.

"Starting with no equipment or supplies, in a country devastated by war, KOC, the firefighters, and Bechtel accomplished what was thought to be an impossible task," Gunther said. "This is an outstanding example of what men and women in a company can do when they work together for the common good."

PREPARING FOR AL AWDA

KOC and Bechtel planners began laying the foundation in November 1990 for Kuwait's restoration, more than 3 months before an army of United Nations troops drove Iraqi invaders from the small Middle East nation.

Members of the KOC-Bechtel restoration team entered Kuwait Mar. 4, 1991, soon after U.N. troops had ousted Iraq's army, to begin assessing damage and planning engineering, procurement, logistics, and construction services.

Planners in March and April 1991 began mobilizing firefighting and well control teams. The first damaged well was soon killed.

During August-October 1991, well control teams from three U.S. companies and a Canadian firm were joined by fresh teams from Kuwait, Canada, China, France, the U.K., Hungary, Iran, Romania, and Russia. In all, 27 teams were fielded, each including as many as 10 firefighters and 20-40 support personnel.

KOC on May 26,1991, began pumping oil through two of its 26 prewar gathering and transportation centers, and round-the-clock operations by December 1991 had restored Kuwait oil production to 400,000 b/d. By the end of June 1993, more than 700 damaged wells were producing again, 18 of Kuwait's original oil production centers were back in operation, and all KOC production goals had been attained.

The last well was killed and last fires doused Nov. 6, 1991, about 8 months after the well control program began.

Oil recovery crews by April 1993 had reclaimed more than 11 million bbl of weathered oil spewed across the countryside by damaged wells. Workers used vacuum trucks and pipelines to pump the crude directly to field treatment plants and Kuwait's Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery.

When all was done, more than 40 countries on five continents had contributed men or materials to the restoration.

In addition to countries already cited, workers hailed from Afghanistan, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Djibouti, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Holland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Lebanon, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, So- mali, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yugoslavia.

MOTHER OF TALLIES

Rehabilitation of Kuwait's oil gathering facilities is still under way.

But the monumental scope of the Al Awda and Al Tameer projects is reflected in this tally of logistical achievements:

KOC-Bechtel crews during Al Awda laid an estimated 250 miles of oil and water pipeline and hauled more than 10 million cu m of gatch, a sand and gravel mixture, into Kuwaiti oil fields to build 250 miles of access roads and prepare wellsites for heavy equipment and drilling rigs.
Al Awda water lines had a combined capacity of 25 million gal/day, and water pumps and hoses moved to successive wellsites were capable of delivering 6,000 gal/min to extinguish a blaze. Crews excavated 360 one million gal lagoons and lined them with plastic to store water to fight fires.
Al Tameer crews laid about 1, 800 miles of flow lines to rehabilitate production gathering and processing centers.
Ordnance disposal teams cleared more than 23,000 land mines, rockets, grenades, and unexploded bombs from 500 sq miles of desert.
Medical professionals set up a 24 hr safety program that included two medical evacuation helicopters and seven medical stations and a 40 bed hospital manned by about 100 medical personnel, paramedics, and support staff.
Communications technicians installed an electronic communication system that grew to include 23 satellite telephone systems, 4,500 telephones, and 2,000 portable radios.
Construction crews built six full service dining halls that prepared about 3 1/2 million meals for workers during the firefighting campaign. More than 35,000 meals/day were served when the workforce swelled during Al Tameer.

Copyright 1993 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.

BECHTEL RECOUNTS CAMPAIGN TO RESTORE KUWAIT'S OIL FLOW

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