(MENAFN- Arab Times) Are there any signs that the unfortunate incidents occurring in our oil industry will come to an end one day?
Last week, a fire broke out in our smallest refinery with daily production capacity of 220,000 barrels, due to cracks in the walls of the unit which led to the shutting down of the refinery for a few weeks.
The total loss will be within the range of $200,000 to $400,000 per day (which is the normal loss margin for such kind of refineries) depending on whether refined petroleum products or crude oil is being sold.
Shuaiba Refinery was built in Kuwait in 1967 as the first national oil refinery; 40 percent of it is privately owned by Kuwaiti public shareholders and the remaining by the government. It was the first refinery to be built in the region prior to any of the OPEC countries. It was in direct competition with the major oil companies as well as the local ones. It was an achievement for Kuwait and the entire region.
However, despite our huge edge in the region, we are unable to curb the fire, explosion and leakage incidents that regularly occur in our oil industry. Our record in this regard is poor while the large sums we spent on safety measures and the extra insurance premium we pay are wasted. This is because we just do not adhere to the simplest rules and regulations related to safety. In fact, we ignore them because we do not have the culture of safety.
Shuaiba Refinery is long due to be closed down and replaced by the fourth refinery € Al-Zour Refinery. This is the long term plan of the Kuwaiti oil industry. However, the delay in closing down Shuaiba Refinery is because of the delay in building the new refinery.
Shuaiba Refinery is an old refinery. Most of its units need to be replaced as it is not producing petroleum products based on the new specifications and in adherence to the global demand of low sulfur levels. However, this is not an excuse for the fires and leakages in our oil facilities.
The sad aspect about the fire incident last week is that people still ignore the simplest rules of safety and security. For example, people insist on driving without seatbelts or while talking or sending messages through their mobile phones. This may be understood as the consequence of the lack of safety culture in our country. However, people follow the same principle of ignoring safety rules even within oil facilities, refineries and oil wells despite the volatile and dangerous conditions.
We need a change in our safety culture in order to avoid any such fire incidents in the future. This could take a very long time and I hope such incidents will not happen again in the meantime.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.