Ceremony commemorating the event attended by senior officials from Kuwait & abroad
Sami Al-Sawagh: The Calm Buoy increases KOC's oil export capabilities and gives it additional flexibility
Al-Sawagh: The Calm Buoy was built in Kuwait with local expertise
Al-Sawagh: We are in the process of increasing the fleet size, the number of marine pilots, engineers, and skippers
Adnan Al-Kharafi: “HESCO" seeks to become a key partner in implementing the “Kuwait 2035" vision
Kuwait Oil Company adopts a clear strategy in its operations, and leaves nothing to chance. It believes that the safety and sustainability of its operations require providing all available capabilities to maintain smooth workflow and safety of assets, as well as its image as one of the most prominent oil companies in the world. From this standpoint, the Company's higher management spare no effort to achieve the highest degree of readiness in its facilities, in order to overcome any challenge it may encounter.
Under the patronage of CEO Emad Mahmoud Sultan, KOC recently inaugurated the Company's new calm buoy, which was designed by Bluewater, a Dutch energy services company, and constructed by the Heavy Engineering Industries and Shipbuilding Company (HEISCO) in a big ceremony at Shuwaikh Port.
Manager Marine Operations Group Sami Al-Sawagh attended the event and delivered an opening speech on behalf of the KOC CEO. Manager Export Operations Group Ali Al-Sayed, Manager Public Relations & Information Group Mohammed Al-Basry, HEISCO Chairman Adnan Al-Kharafi, Bluewater Vice President (Projects) Geert Datema, as well as representatives from a number of K-Companies, ministries, government agencies, and representatives of the diplomatic corps in Kuwait attended the ceremony, which was held at HEISCO's headquarters.
In his speech, Al-Sawagh said that calm buoys are an integral component of the offshore infrastructure of KOC's export operations, as they enhance the Company's capabilities and provide additional flexibility for export operations. It should be noted that all stages of the construction process associated with the project took place in Kuwait and utilized local expertise.
Al-Sawagh went on to say that the successful construction of the buoy was a result of excellent cooperation, understanding, support, and coordination between the three partners in the project. He added that all work related to the construction of the buoy was carried out with dedication, professionalism, and commitment from all parties.
He pointed out that the contract was awarded to the Dutch company, which had previously designed two calm buoys for KOC, which are still operating efficiently. He explained that Bluewater's record of accomplishments for more than 35 years encouraged KOC to award the contract of the project, as well as KOC's experience with its products.
He maintained that one of the unique features of the contract of the calm buoy, lies in carrying out all construction work and tests in Kuwait. He also congratulated HESCO on the achievement of this important and unique project, saying that it plays an important role in supporting the development of domestic oil and gas industry and marine industry in particular.
Historic Relationship
Al-Sawagh maintained that KOC's relationship with “HESCO" as historic that extends for decades, during which it provided many services to the Company. He added that “HESCO" provides professional and efficient services to maintain marine assets, in addition to shipbuilding and maintenance projects. This includes calm buoys, dry dock services, specialized labor, spare parts, boat services and technical support.
Al-Sawagh explained that KOC is looking forward to continuing cooperation relationship with "HESCO" as a partner, and hopes to implement other projects with it in the future. He expressed his pleasure that building the calm buoy was successfully completed within the time specified in the contract, and in a manner that satisfies KOC. The quality of construction work is gratifying, and there is no doubt that the calm buoy will be installed, commissioned within the program specified in the contract.
In conclusion, Al-Sawagh thanked the Maritime Operations Group with all its teams, which he said had succeeded in managing the project using the Company's internal resources, from its inception until its delivery. He also thanked all individuals who participated in the project for their efforts.
For his part, HEISCO Chairman Adnan Al-Kharafi commended the Ministry of Oil, KPC, and KOC for their assistance in accomplishing the first achievement of its kind in Kuwait.
Al-Kharafi expressed hope to step up cooperation between HEISCO and KOC toward further achievements and aspirations, noting that his company, which was established in 1974, has become an advanced production base and a local industrial model to follow. It has demonstrated its efficiency, high engineering and administrative capabilities, and its success par excellence through implementation of several projects, despite the challenges and difficulties, he said.
He emphasized that the Company's goals will be achieved only in cooperation between the private and public sectors, especially the oil sector and all relevant government agencies, such as the KPC and its subsidiaries, to create new areas of cooperation, overcome obstacles to support local industries, establish trust in national companies, and achieve the expected achievements with the highest international quality standards.
He concluded that HEISCO seeks to create a basic business environment, to achieve the ultimate goal of becoming a major player in the development of the national economy, and a key partner in implementing the vision of His Highness the Amir, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, "Kuwait 2035", and turning the country into a leading regional financial and trade centre of gravity.
Thanks, Appreciation & Inauguration
In his turn, Bluewater Vice President (Projects) Geert Datema, delivered a speech in which he expressed his pleasure in attending the inauguration ceremony, and thanked KOC for awarding the contract to his company after four months of engineering work during which the design of the calm buoy was completed.
Datema commended the constructive cooperation between Bluewater, KOC and HEISCO during the negotiation of the contract, until the signing of it and commencement of work. He thanked subcontractors, considering that the project to build the calm buoy in Kuwait is new for them.
Then, HEISCO DCEO Shipbuilding and Repair Eng. Salem Marafi, delivered a presentation in which he discussed the stages of manufacturing the calm buoy until its completion, and thanked all the parties that contributed to the success of the project.
Prior to the inauguration of the calm buoy, Manager Marine Operations Group Sami Al-Sawagh improvised a speech in which he thanked the audience and HESCO for the success of the project, and conveyed the compliments of KOC and its employees to those in charge of it. He stressed that this achievement and celebration represents a culmination and development of a true relationship and partnership between the two companies, noting that he has accompanied this relationship since his appointment.
Al-Sawagh went on to say that in the context of the relationship with HESCO, many employees in KOC have acquired new expertise in areas related to their work, as they learned in their parent company. In addition, this inspires self-respect and pride in all KOC employees, he said; stressing that this relationship paid off, and refined many experiences. He cited the transfer of employees between K- companies, and from there to "HESCO", which ultimately is in the interest of Kuwait.
Then, Manager Maritime Operations Group, HESCO CEO, and guests, inaugurated the calm buoy, where memorial photos were taken.
KOC's Calm Buoys
In an interview with "Al-Kuwaiti" Mr. Al-Sawagh, spoke at length about calm buoys which are KOC's important oil export facilities. He said that the general idea behind them is to build berths to export oil to giant tankers off the sea, away from oil ports, and has saved a lot of money, as building berths on the ground is very costly, and requires land and large sums of money.
He also stated that the depths at sea help the giant ships arrive, in addition to providing safety and security in the event of accidents or fires, God forbid, as they are at sea away from oil installations and facilities.
Al-Sawagh added that the Company has four calm buoys, two of which were designed and built by the American company SOFEC, and the other two were designed by the Dutch company Bluewater. As for the new calm buoy it will not be used now, but rather will be a reserve in the event of one of the other buoys being broken down, or pulled into the dry dock for maintenance or inspection, so the company can maintain its export capacity.
He maintained that the berth has the capacity to receive tankers in proportion to KOC needs, as an alternative to any of the calm buoys it owns. Construction of the new calm buoy began in August 2018 and ended in December 2019.
He added that many countries use this type of buoys, such as GCC countries, Algeria, Malaysia, Indonesia, the United States of America and African countries, pointing out that the contract was awarded to "HESCO", as it provided the required facilities for the project such as the dry dock, the workshops and necessary equipment, while Bluewater was responsible for overseeing design and construction of the calm buoy.
Supervision of the project was originally provided by KOC through the Marine Technical Services Team and the Marine Maintenance Team, while engineers from both teams were assigned to supervise the process and be present permanently, as they were reporting daily, weekly and monthly on the progress of the project.
As for the relationship between KOC and HESCO, Al-Sawagh said it is a close operative relationship that is still working over decades. There are dry dock contracts, maintenance contracts and spare parts provision contracts, in addition to specialized labor contracts.
Advanced Fleet
Al-Sawagh emphasized that KOC's fleet is in line with the requirements and technological developments in the oil and shipping sector The Company initiated to increase the number of fleet assets in past few years, in accordance with its needs, with the aim of keeping pace with increasing the Company's export capacity and covering the operations of KIPIC's refinery in, and the renovation of the old fleet, which was built in 1993 and 1994, and served KOC operations for nearly 25 years.
In the context of that process, specifications for the Company's needs were developed, where the employees of the Marine Technical Services Team and other Teams in the group played a significant role, with their expertise in setting up specifications and requirements. For that purpose, a comparison was made between more than 173 shipyards in the world. Upon reviewing offers and determining the required specifications, tenders were put on lists that included 12 competing companies in each project. Lists included the quality, capabilities, and efficiency of boats, as well as the nature of the region in which they operate, so that the competition would be fair. During the past year the Marine Operations Group received 10 new vessels and were taken into service to perform various tasks.
The Calm Buoy
The calm buoy is a deep-water port facility which is used to dock super tankers and pump oil for export at a high rate. It is also used to refuel visiting ships, and it assists greatly in maintaining KOC's export efficiency, which is in line with the requirements of the 2040 Strategy for Kuwait's oil sector.