8 - Kuwait Oil Company

KOC’s Environmental AchievementsAs Kuwait’s main producer ofoil and gas, KOC has the largeresponsibility of providingenergy for both local needsand export purposes whoseprofits benefit the nationas a whole. However, KOC’sresponsibilities do not endthere, as Dhari Al-Gharabally,Team Leader – Health andEnvironment pointed outrecently at the Kuwait Oil andGas Conference.As the Health and EnvironmentTeam Leader at KOC, part ofAl-Gharabally’s job is to ensurethe health and welfare of KOCemployees and contractors isprotected. This, he said, is donein a number of ways that rangefrom informative messages andcampaigns to actual workshopsor talks.“Ensuring the safety of ouremployees doesn’t just concernitself with the office – Many ofour employees have to drive forover an hour in some cases totheir offices in North or WestKuwait. We make sure that ouremployees are safe everywhere,starting from the home,” he said.In his speech, Al-Gharaballypointed out that KOC strivesto comply with regulations inKuwait as defined by the EPA.In fact, KOC’s willingness toprotect the environment is sostrong that the company activelyseeks to work hand in handwith the EPA on a number ofissues. This is particularly truein relation to the monitoring ofair quality throughout Kuwait, anundertaking which KOC and theEPA work cooperatively towards.“By working together withDhari Al-Gharabally, Team Leader – Health and Environmentregulators like the EPA, we bothcan achieve the common goal ofimproving the environment,” saidAl-Gharabally.In addition to working withoutside regulators, KOC hasdeveloped a number of internalprograms and procedures ituses to promote a culture thatvalues a safer environment. Oneof these systems is HSE Live,which is an automated systemdeveloped within KOC that isused to monitor and capture allHSE-related incidents that occurwithin the company. “If you wantto manage any issue, you have tomeasure it,” Al-Gharabally said,adding, “Without measuring it,you won’t understand where therisk your employees are facedwith and where to focus yourefforts.”The first thing that comes tomind when many people thinkof KOC is probably a largeflare burning bright atop a flarestack. However, in reality, KOChas taken monumental stridesin reducing the amount of gasflaring it actually engages in.With the ultimate target ofreducing flaring to less than 1%by 2011/2012, Al-Gharaballymaintained that KOC was largelysuccessful in this undertaking,adding that in some cases, flaringwas even reduced to levelsbelow 1%.Considering the fact that gasflaring in Kuwait stood at some17% as recently as 2005, andstood at levels even greaterthan that in previous years,Al-Gharabally said that thisachievement in such a shortamount of time was a greataccomplishment for the company.The team leader added that thereduction in flaring could nothave been completed withoutserious investment in equipmentand resources and a commitmentfrom management to accomplishthis goal. Additionally,both internal and externalcoordination, especially withKNPC, allowed for this goal to be32 April-June 2012