A certificate on the efficiency and quality of crude oil is issued according to international standards and measures
*The laboratory started in 2005 and is currently operating under the Export Oil Movement & Measurement Team
*Its mission is exporting and transporting oil from oil tanks to oil tankers
*Its certificate serves as a pricing certificate for Kuwaiti crude oil
*Contributed to scientific studies and provided support to entities outside KOC
In an effort to have an integrated independent entity from oil exploration and extraction to export, and to ensure the quality of the products it exports to both domestic and international markets, KOC launched its own export laboratory in July 2005.
This laboratory is responsible for issuing a certificate of efficiency and quality for the crude oil produced from all the Company's gathering centers in various locations, in accordance with recognized international measures and standards.
The export laboratory represents the end of the production phase, but it is the beginning of export operations.
The certificate on the quality and type of crude oil in the northern and southern reservoirs is the green light to confirm the specifications of export oil, both inside and outside Kuwait, and is a certificate of the transfer of crude ownership from Kuwait Oil Company to other companies and countries.
To further discuss this laboratory, we met with Khalid Al-Kandari, Senior Chemist in the Export Oil Movement & Measurement Team of the EXPORT OPERATIONS & MARINE OPERATIONS SUPPORT SERVICES GROUP. He is now in charge of the laboratory, after having previously been under the management of the Export Operations Team in the Export Operations Group.
Company interface
Al-Kandari initially pointed out that the export laboratory is considered to be KOC's front in terms of the quality and specifications of crude oil, where it issues certifications that specify the efficiency and quality of crude oil exported by the Company, which bears the brand name (Kuwait Export Crude (KEC)) in accordance with internationally recognized measures and standards.
He added that the laboratory began work in July 2005, and before that , the Company depended on Mina Al-Ahmadi Laboratory of KNPC.
He pointed out that KOC's management made this decision in order to have an integrated and independent entity, from the stage of oil exploration and extraction, to the export phase, and the transfer of ownership of crude oil to other domestic and foreign companies (Custody Transfer).
International accreditation
Given the export laboratory's relative recency compared to the other laboratories in the Company and in other oil companies, it was necessary to prove the efficiency and accuracy of its results. Therefore, there was some concern surrounding the laboratory obtaining an international accreditation certificate, but it successfully received two ISO certificates, one of which was administrative, the other technical and administrative.
The Company has been particularly interested in the efficiency and accuracy of the results issued by the export laboratory, and incorporated the latest devices that give accurate results to crude oil specifications.
As a culmination of these efforts, the laboratory received the ISO 9001 certificate in 2007 for administrative matters, followed by the ISO/IEC 17025 Quality Efficiency Certificate for Technical and Administrative Matters in 2011, which is the first of its kind in the Kuwaiti oil sector and is considered to be the highest level of international recognition at the laboratory level.
In addition, the Export Laboratory joined the ASTM Proficiency Testing Program in 2010. This is one of the leading international standards development organizations with more than 245 global laboratories, and Kuwait's export laboratory was the only Kuwaiti laboratory participating in this program.
Studies and support
These achievements and international recognitions of the accuracy of the results issued by the Export Laboratory over nearly 15 years have played a major role in gaining people's trust in KPC.
In 2013, the KPC decide to issue a certificate of analysis for crude oil in the Saudi-Kuwaiti neutral zone, namely Al-Khafji Crude and Al-Hout Crude, through the Export Laboratory of KOC.
Since its inception, the Export Laboratory has greatly contributed to scientific studies aimed at identifying everything that affects the international standard of crude oil specifications, and is working to minimize and prevent these factors.
In line with KOC's goal of developing its culture and enhancing its image, the laboratory has provided various forms of support and assistance to external parties. It has assisted a number of laboratories outside the oil sector in obtaining the international certificate of competence and accreditation in Technical and Administrative Matters (ISO/IEC 17025), including the Ministry of Electricity and Water Laboratory, and Kuwait Airways laboratories.
Quality and price
As for how the laboratory works, Al-Kanderi explained that it examines the quality and specifications of crude oil in the tanks of the northern and southern export hangars, in order to ensure that it conforms to the agreed specifications in the international contracts between KPC, international companies, and other countries.
Accordingly, permission is given to export oil and transport it from oil tanks to oil tankers, based on the results provided by the certificate of each tank. As is well known, the price of crude oil depends on its quality, so the certificate issued by the export laboratory is a pricing certificate for Kuwaiti crude oil.
In addition, the Export Laboratory examines the quality of crude oil in all lines and pipes before mixing it into the Mixing Manifold, in order to determine the quality and specifications of the oil extracted from all KOC gathering centers before mixing them.
This step is fundamental to be alert in case of any change of specifications in any area, which in turn affects the specifications of the total oil after mixing.
The laboratory also studies changes in crude oil specifications, such as high Sulphur content, which plays a major role in the price of crude oil.
Technical studies
The laboratory also analyzes crude oil before export, in order to give it an official export status, issued with an official certificate for each oil tank.
In addition, it analyzes the quantities of oil collected in the self-gathering tank, which contains a quantity of crude oil representing all the tanks exported to a particular oil tanker.
In view of the accuracy of the export laboratory's results, in addition to obtaining international certifications authorizing it to conduct technical studies of the characteristics of crude oil, KPC and other KOC departments are counting on it to conduct some studies on changes in Kuwaiti crude oil.
Al-Kandari confirmed that the laboratory analyzes all samples of Kuwaiti crude oil, in addition to the examination and analysis of Kuwait's light crude oil, and is equipped to analyze heavy crude oil and medium crude oil.
Efficiency program
He explained that the laboratory began participating in the quality efficiency program organized by the ASTM International, formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials, in November 2010, pointing out that this program includes more than 200 laboratories from various countries such as the United States, Canada, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Mexico.
The idea of this program is to send crude oil samples from the United States to all participating laboratories three times a year (one sample every four months), and those laboratories analyze the samples and subsequently send the results to the Association, in order to ensure their accuracy.
The KOC laboratory has done well since joining the Association, where it has succeeded in all tests and continues to do so today.
Useful cooperation
On the parties that the laboratory has cooperated with outside the KOC, Al-Kandari said that in 2013, the laboratory analyzed the oil samples in the Saudi-Kuwaiti neutral zone for seven months, at the request of KPC, after the laboratory gained its trust.
In 2017, the Laboratory provided an overview to the Ministry of Electricity and Water in Kuwait's Laboratories, on how to obtain the Laboratory Quality Efficiency Certificate (ISO/IEC 17025).
The Export Laboratory also cooperated with Kuwait Airways Laboratories to help them obtain the same certificate. This was in 2019, following multiple visits from the Kuwait Airways' concerned parties, whom sent an official letter thanking KOC for its kind cooperation and valuable assistance.
Regarding future developments, Al-Kandari revealed that a new project is currently under way, and will most likely come to fruition in 2024.
This project involves the establishment of a new export laboratory equipped with the latest international equipment and technologies, with the aim of analyzing crude oil and treated water, and it has already been established for tender recently.