Success with ESS
Chemical
KNPC MOVES FAR BEYOND COMPLIANCE WITH ESSENTIAL SUITE™
State-owned refinery proves its commitment to social responsibility and best practices in
implementing Kuwait’s first automated enterprise-level information management system
Not long ago, Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) found itself in the dubious position of being accused of environmental
sins the company was not responsible for committing, but having no way of proving its innocence.
Residents of nearby communities would complain to KNPC about their eyes burning and the smell in the emirate’s oil-rich southern
region. They would blame KNPC, and there was no credible way for the company to prove otherwise, even though the company
has long been committed to protecting the environment and residents.
“We couldn’t tell this story without an information management system in place to show it,” says Heba Y. Al-Qabandi, Senior
Environmental Engineer in the Safety, Health and Environmental (SHE) Department at KNPC. “People would look over and see our
smokestacks and assume that we were the problem.”
In looking for a software system to help document the company’s stature as an environmental leader, KNPC chose Essential
Suite™, the fully integrated, 100 percent browser-based Environmental, Health & Safety (EH&S) and Crisis Management solution
by ESS. Essential Suite transforms EH&S and Crisis Management data into the information needed to support regulatory reporting
and business-enhancing performance metrics to drive operational expenses and risk out of business.
KNPC’s environmental strategy is rather unique in an era when
compliance is generally the initial, if not primary, driver for implementing
Moving Beyond Compliance with ESS information management systems. While more and more organizations
are using their compliance solutions for Operational Risk Management,
The Challenge KNPC continues to break new ground on the environmental front and
Residents of a nearby community were accusing has been identified by the Kuwaiti government as a best practices
KNPC of environmental problems they were not model.
responsible for and the company wanted a way to
“KNPC is and has been a leader on social issues,” said David Bradley,
document the company’s stature as an
Regional Manager at DS&S, an international systems integration and
environmental leader. information technology corporation that was one of two primary
implementation partners on the KNPC project. “They do it, not only for
The Solution regulatory compliance, but for social responsibility.”
One of the world’s largest oil corporations, KNPC
chose the Essential Air™, Essential Water™, The local partner for the project is Integrated Environmental Solutions
Essential Waste™, Essential Chemical (IES), a subsidiary of Petroleum Services Company (PSC) that was
Inventory™ and Essential Industrial Hygiene™, established to respond to EH&S demands in Kuwait and the region for
modules in Essential Suite™ to help stem the tide automated solutions that reduce the costs and increase the
of undeserved criticism. effectiveness of environmental management.
The Results Managing Operational Risk
KNPC has been able to demonstrate its U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) statutes are among those
commitment to socially responsible operations. ESS’ software is designed to address. In Kuwait, environmental
The company is also the first in Kuwait to have an authorities are pushing for an EPA-like compliance and enforcement
automated system for monitoring environmental framework, and the ESS implementation is one of the primary activities
that put KNPC on the cutting edge of this movement, said Dr. Sami Al-
compliance and corporate requirements. In
Yakoob, General Manager, IES.
addition, KNPC has been recognized by the
Kuwaiti government a best practices model and is “KNPC is the first company in Kuwait to have an automated system for
using Essential Suite to incorporate emissions- complying with changing environmental regulations, along with their
reducing characteristics in the design phase of a own corporate requirements,” said Dr. Al-Yakoob. “This is quite an
new refinery that is under construction. accomplishment. It’s one that I know KNPC is very proud of.”
“It has been a very leveling experience for us, as well,” Dr. Al-Yakoob said. “And, in the process, ESS, DS&S and IES have
established an effective foundation and methodology for implementing scalable, flexible EH&S and Crisis Management solutions
ESS ● T: 800.289.6116 or 480.346.5500 ● F: 480.346.5599 ● www.ess-home.com

Success with ESS
Chemical
designed to help organizations throughout the region In addition, Essential Suite is a core component
improve overall performance by reducing the risks and of the company’s project action plan for long-
costs associated with compliance” term sustainability. With the emissions baseline
established, KNPC uses an aggressive, action-
KNPC operates one of the world’s largest oil oriented system to:
complexes, with a total capacity of nearly 1 million
barrels a day from three refineries. As the downstream • Perform detailed exposure assessments
subsidiary of the state-owned Kuwait Petroleum and formulate recommendations for
Company (KPC), it is responsible for all refining additional control devices.
activity in the country. With about 14,000 employees • Expand the use of Essential Suite to
and contract workers, it is one of the primary additional key systems.
employers in Kuwait. • Prioritize and implement emission control
recommendations.
This primary organizational risk the company wanted • Use Essential Suite for local, national and
to address involved the company’s reputation with international communications.
local residents. Essential Air™, Essential Water™, • Conduct continuous process reviews to
Essential Waste™, Essential Chemical Inventory™ improve KNPC’s long-term sustainability.
and Essential Industrial Hygiene™ were called on to
help change the tide. Once the applications were As a result of all of this, the Environmental
implemented, the first order of business for the Public Authority (EPA) in Kuwait is showcasing
company was to develop a baseline emissions study, KNPC to other industries as an example of how
which ultimately proved KNPC’s point. emissions can be monitored, managed and
reported. The agency also adopted a statute
“With Essential Suite, we can now give an accurate that requires all facilities in the country to
picture of our emissions system,” Ms. Al-Qabandi said. conduct baseline emissions studies.
“It has shown the system to be valid.”
“The key here is to demonstrate the
Invest Wisely to Get Results environmental benefits of KNPC’s ongoing
KNPC is also using Essential Suite™ in the design investments to communicate their social
phase of its fourth refinery, which is expected to responsibility,” Mr. Bradley says. “With their
increase daily production by about 400,000 barrels investments, they have accomplished this and
when it comes on line at the end of the decade. The more.”
goal is to build emissions-reducing characteristics into
the facility itself by using the suite to run “what-if”
scenarios to incorporate BACT equipment and
configurations.
KNPC’s Shuaiba Refinery, the first Mina Abdulla Refinery is where KNPC Mina Al-Ahmadi Refinery is one of the
export refinery in Kuwait, produces introduced many earlier compliance world’s most modern refineries.
about 38 kinds of light, medium and activities designed for making products Compliance at all three facilities is fully
heavy petroleum products. meet the various environmental integrated via Essential Suite™.
regulations on the global market.
ESS ● T: 800.289.6116 or 480.346.5500 ● F: 480.346.5599 ● www.ess-home.com