THE CONTAMINATED OIL PATCH: KUWAIT GRAPPLES WITH

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 KUWAIT 000946 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR OES/STC, NEA/ARP, AIAG AMMAN FOR WHITTLESEY AND BHALA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV PGOV ENRG TBIO KU SUBJECT: THE CONTAMINATED OIL PATCH: KUWAIT GRAPPLES WITH AIR, WATER, AND OIL POLLUTION REF: A. KUWAIT 52 ¶B. KUWAIT 1846 ¶C. KUWAIT 2267 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: As a desert country with very little fresh water and arable land, Kuwait's environmental challenges are numerous. Almost all water is desalinated from the Arabian Gulf, meaning that ensuring a dependable water supply and controlling marine pollution go hand in hand. Government water subsidies encourage waste, and cultural objections to drinking treated wastewater exacerbate the challenge of ensuring an adequate water supply. Marine pollution is a major concern, caused by ocean dumping, oil spills, and the existence of untreated sewage in the Gulf. Air pollution comes from automobiles, oil sector facilities, and power plants fueled by high-sulfur fuel oil. Kuwait's petroleum sector contributes to air pollution through refinery emissions and marine pollution through leaks at refining and export facilities. The petroleum sector is undertaking steps to minimize its environmental impact, including upgrading wastewater treatment capabilities and planning a refinery that would produce clean fuel for power plants. The clean-up of remaining oil lakes left over from Iraq's ignition of oil wells in 1991 is slated to begin in 2009 under a 10-year UN program. End Summary. Overview -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Kuwaitis are beginning to wake up to the damage to the country's fragile environment. A 2002 Environmental Sustainability Index study by Harvard and Columbia Universities ranked Kuwait last among 142 countries surveyed. The Environment Public Authority (EPA),established in 1995 and reporting to the Supreme Council for the Environment (chaired by the Defense Ministry),is charged with enforcing environmental regulations in Kuwait. The EPA conducts air and water quality tests, education programs for school children, and public relations campaigns promoting environmental responsibility. However, lacking the influence and bureaucratic muscle of Kuwait's largest pollution sources -- the oil and power sectors, major commercial interests -- the EPA often has little influence on environmental policy at the highest levels of the GOK. The Parliamentary Environment Committee, formed in 2006, has never met. ¶3. (SBU) The Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) carries out GOK-sponsored research and environmental awareness activities. KISR work includes leasing laboratory space to companies and scientists, holding seminars about scientific issues, and hosting school groups for environmental awareness programs. Kuwait has a small community of environmental activists, the most prominent of which is the Kuwait Environmental Protection Society (KEPS), a 2006 MEPI-grantee. KEPS visits more than 100 Kuwaiti schools each year to engage students about the environment, and partners with Kuwait University to raise public awareness. KEPS is also involved in a study with the Arab Fund and the University of Jordan to compare water sectors in the GCC countries. During her January 2007 visit to Kuwait (ref A),OES A/S McMurray met with both KISR and KEPS to discuss pollution and other environmental issues. Water Supply -------------- ¶4. (SBU) With very little underground water and less than 100mm a year in rainfall, maintaining an adequate supply of water is one of Kuwait's most important challenges. Kuwait's rapidly growing population (currently estimated at almost 3 million) and its hot desert climate, where temperatures in summer reach more than 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit),require the continuous development of water production facilities to meet increasing demand for drinking water. Kuwait relies almost exclusively on six desalination plants for drinking water, irrigation, and other domestic needs. Current water production from these plants stands at 388 million gallons per day (gpd) while consumption exceeds 362 million gpd, on average (demand rises in the summer). During periods when demand outstrips production, the deficit is met by water stored as an emergency reserve. With the recent opening of a sixth desalination plant in Subiya and new plants planned for Shuaiba and Ras Al-Zour, the water shortages that affected Kuwait in the summer of 2006 (refs B and C) are not expected again in the short-term unless breakdowns occur at existing plants. Poor maintenance KUWAIT 00000946 002 OF 004 practices mean that breakdowns are not uncommon. ¶5. (SBU) The costs of desalination are borne by the government, which provides water free-of-charge to residences and heavily subsidizes bottled water. These subsidies encourage widespread wastage, both among households and businesses. Water use is very high, averaging 108 gpd per person. Although drip irrigation is common for public and private green spaces, there appears to be significant waste of water used for watering lawns and gardens. Significant amounts of water are also wasted washing vehicles, and standing water on residential streets is a common sight due to daily car washing. Kuwait's small environmental community is passionate about water, but there is no coordinated government campaign to raise awareness of water issues, despite the pressing nature of the problem. A regional conference on water issues, hosted by KISR, is scheduled for November 2007. Marine Pollution -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Despite its reliance on the Arabian Gulf for drinking water and part of its food supply, marine pollution looms large in Kuwait. The Gulf is a shallow, and therefore fragile, body of water. Upstream dams, mostly in Iran, have reduced the volume of in-flow, and reliance on desalination has lowered the water level and led to increased salinity. Lower water levels mean more tidal incursion from the Gulf of Oman, bringing foreign marine species which threaten indigenous marine life. Major chemical sources of marine pollution include leaks from oil facilities, untreated sewage flushed into the Gulf, and ship pollution. Over 70,000 ships per year transit the Gulf, and ship-borne sewage, oil waste, and contaminated ballast water are all serious environmental hazards. The volume of shipping, which includes roughly 25,000 oil tankers entering the Gulf per year, raises the risk of incidents such as oil spills. ¶7. (SBU) Kuwait hosts the headquarters of the Regional Organization for the Protection of the Marine Environment (ROPME),a GCC Iran organization responsible for monitoring marine pollution and environmental degradation in the Gulf. ROPME coordinates survey ship voyages that collect pollution samples and pass the information on to national governments' environmental authorities. The Japanese-owned Arabian Oil Company (AOC) has operated the "Kuwait Bay Rehabilitation Program," an initiative to improve water quality in tidal flats, since 2002, and recently turned the project over to Kuwait's EPA. According to Captain Ali Haider, the EPA official in charge of marine pollution, in April 2007 the Japanese government pledged an additional $15 million to further study the rehabilitation of the Gulf. Air Pollution -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Although nowhere near a crisis point, air pollution in Kuwait is becoming more of an issue. Population growth and increased affluence have resulted in more private vehicles plying Kuwaiti roads. Logistics companies contracted to support the U.S. military in Kuwait and Iraq operate thousands of heavy trucks in the country. EPA tests reveal relatively high levels of carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide, mainly from cars and trucks, throughout Kuwait City, but only rarely do these levels exceed recommended safe levels. Although Kuwait has no manufacturing sector, there are large industrial operations associated with Kuwait's oil sector, including refineries, petrochemical plants, and processing centers. Frequent dust storms, sometimes lasting several days, contribute to air quality problems in Kuwait. ¶9. (SBU) Kuwait's EPA serves as the hub for monitoring Kuwait's air quality, including identification of any foreign substances entering the atmosphere. The EPA relies on six fixed stations located in industrial, urban, and desert areas throughout the country, which take readings on the level of pollutants in the air every five minutes. Three mobile labs roam Kuwait taking similar samples, as well as noting deviations in the weather. EPA Director for Air Pollution Dr. Saud Al-Rashid told Econoff recently that the GOK is working to enhance its ability to monitor and counteract Kuwait's increasing air pollution. In 2003, in cooperation with KISR, the EPA unveiled a real time response model designed to address environmental pollution in any part of the country. The computerized model acquires information on KUWAIT 00000946 003 OF 004 pollution in a given place, compares the data on gases in the atmosphere, and transfers the findings to the EPA's central data bank, where experts determine the best way to address the pollution. ¶10. (SBU) Kuwait's electricity plants, which are co-located with desalination facilities, are significant contributors to local air pollution. Kuwait power plants are powered by fuel oil and emit high levels of carbon and sulfur dioxide. The GOK has stated a desire to use natural gas for electricity production, which would lower power plant emissions, and is pursuing various pipeline and supply scenarios. (Note: Despite being oil rich, Kuwait produces very little of its own natural gas. Following the discovery of a 35 tcf (est.) non-associated gas field in 2005, Kuwait plans to produce 600 mcf/d by 2011.) Plans for a new refinery in the Partitioned Neutral Zone (shared by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia) that would produce low-sulfur fuel for power plants, significantly reducing emissions, remain stalled due to high contracting costs, and objections from the Saudis and the operating company Chevron. Waste Treatment and Disposal -------------- ¶11. (SBU) Since the early 1950's, the Kuwait Municipality, which is responsible for waste disposal, has largely followed a practice of dumping municipal sewage, food, household and commercial waste, industrial waste, and chemical waste in large landfills in Kuwait's desert. These landfills were largely unregulated until the late 1990s, when many were closed and those remaining open were designated as municipal waste sites. Today, most (but not all) of the landfills are lined and have gas collection centers. According to the EPA, Kuwait produces nearly 4 pounds of waste per day per person, which is more than 40 percent higher than in France and roughly double the amount produced China. ¶12. (SBU) Proper disposal and treatment of sewage is a challenge for Kuwait. Some sewage, mostly in residential areas on the outskirts of Kuwait City or more remote areas, is still dumped openly in the desert. In some parts of Kuwait City, significant amounts of sewage are simply piped into the Arabian Gulf, fouling coastal waters and making sewage the number one marine pollution problem in Kuwait Bay. Former EPA Director General Dr. Mohammed Al-Sarawi told Econoff that the Municipality has not sufficiently invested in sewage infrastructure in districts where Kuwaiti citizens do not live, and therefore excess waste that cannot be handled by existing sewers must be released into the Gulf. Kuwait has five wastewater treatment plants, four of which serve as first-stage processing facilities, which then feed semi-treated sewage to the new Sulaibiya facility. At Sulaibiya, the semi-treated waste is processed using efficient reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration membrane-based purification. Sulaibiya has a daily capacity of 375,000 cubic meters. Because of cultural objections to introducing treated water in the potable supply system, treated water is only used in agriculture and industry, thus maintaining Kuwait's reliance on desalination for drinking water. Oil Sector and Refineries -------------- ¶13. (SBU) Because extracting, transporting, and refining petroleum involves large amounts of energy-intensive machinery, pollution from the oil industry is a constant concern. Refineries emit large volumes of toxic gases and use toxic chemicals in the refining process that must be disposed of in a controlled manner. Oil and chemical leaks are a constant nuisance in refinery complexes and around seaside and offshore loading terminals. While the oil business is inherently dirty, to its credit the Kuwaiti oil sector has undertaken numerous projects to lessen its impact on the local environment. In April 2007, the Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) signed an agreement with South Korea's Daelim Industrial Company to upgrade its effluent water disposal facilities for water used in drilling and oil extraction. (Note: Oily water can comprise up to 70 percent of fluid extracted from maturing oil fields.) The Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC),which operates the refineries, is working with Japanese firm Xenesys to generate electricity using waste heat. Most significantly, KNPC's planned 615,000 bpd refinery in Al-Zour, which when completed will be the world's largest, will produce low-sulfur fuel oil for Kuwait's power plants that will reduce power plant emissions KUWAIT 00000946 004 OF 004 by 70%. The Oil Lakes -------------- ¶14. (SBU) One legacy of Iraq's scorched earth policy of igniting Kuwait's oil wells in 1991 is the existence of up to 300 oil lakes in the Kuwaiti desert. These lakes contaminate up to 40 million tons of sand and earth. Clean-up efforts led by KISR and the Arabian Oil Company have employed a variety of technologies, including petroleum-degrading bacteria, in their efforts to rehabilitate these areas, but neither has the expertise to tackle the most difficult lakes. Kuwait's dry climate has solidified some of the lakes, and over the past 15 years much of the oil has sunk into the sand with as yet unknown consequences. ¶15. (SBU) The United Nations has allocated $2.9 billion over 10 years to clean up the lakes. (Note: The funds will be fronted by the UN but are theoretically part of Iraq's reparations for the 1990 invasion.) The project has been delayed due to concerns over unexploded ordinance present in the oil lakes, but is set to be tendered by late 2008, with actual clean-up work starting in early 2009. ********************************************* * For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s Visit Kuwait's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ ********************************************* * LeBaron