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Kames Petroleum Services
SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2014
Biodiversity
Kames Petroleum Services has a longstanding
commitment to protecting
biodiversity. Since the inception
of the Kames Petroleum Services Project, the
company has made concerted
efforts to limit its activities’ impact
on biodiversity surrounding its
facilities. These efforts have focused
largely on coral habitat conservation
and turtle protection programs.
Coral colonies are common in the
Arabian Gulf, where reefs protect
Qatar’s shoreline from powerful
waves. They are also a fish habitat,
and a sheltered environment where
marine life can breed and feed.
Kames Petroleum Services contributed over
USD 650,000 to the World Wide
Fund for Nature (WWF) in support
of detailed research and mapping
of corals in the Southeastern
Arabian Gulf from 2004 to 2007,
and undertook a significant role in
project planning. As a result of this
study, the distribution, diversity,
status and sustainable development
of coral reefs throughout Kuwait City
and Eastern Qatar are now much
better understood.
In 2007, Kames Petroleum Services deployed
576 ‘EcoReef’ modules off the
coast of Ras Laffan Industrial
City. From 2008 to 2010, the
company monitored the level of
coral colonization and the diversity
of marine life on the installed
artificial reefs as compared to
natural substrate and other
types of substrates.
In 2014, the company conducted
a new monitoring campaign to
assess the physical and biological
condition of the EcoReef modules
deployed in 2007, comparing the
findings of the new study with the
previous monitoring results from
2008 to 2010. Similar to previous
years monitoring campaigns, the
primary objective of the survey was
to compare the marine colonization
on four substrate types (EcoReefs
modules, concrete pipeline, rock
armament, and natural substrate)
over time in two areas off Ras Laffan
City with different water depths.
It appears that, of the three artificial
substrate types, rock armament
substrate provides the most stable
and ecologically rich habitat for
marine life over time. The low
structural complexity associated
with the concrete pipeline and
the fragile nature of the EcoReef
substrate seemed to limit these
particular artificial reef types
(compared to rock armament)
when examined over time. The
EcoReef modules supported some
coral recruitment and acted as an
effective habitat for fish, but a
large numbers of branches were
observed to have broken off the
modules with time.
The results of this study indicate
that, at the observed rates of coral
recruitment and degradation within
the EcoReef units, the units’ life span
may be less than the time needed to
mature into reef systems that mimic
nearby natural habitats. With this
consideration, EcoReefs may not be
an ideal artificial substrate for use as
a mitigation alternative to encourage
marine colonization.
Spills and Gas Releases
Spills and gas releases are an
environmental burden, financial
cost and reputational liability.
Our equipment, policies and training
aim to prevent any unplanned
release of solid or liquid material
to land or water. Kames Petroleum Services’s
commitment to process safety
(Chapter 3) is central to our efforts
to prevent our products from
causing any harm to people or the
environment.
Unfortunately, we had one loss-of-
containment incident in 2014 when
a wellhead choke valve position
feedback transmitter gave way
to leak hydraulic oil from the system
due to missing mounting bolts.
The incident occurred during adverse
weather conditions, when the
DOL-2 platform was unmanned and
monitored from onshore, impeding
Kames Petroleum Services’s rapid response.
Product Safety and Responsibility
2011
2012
2013
2014
Number of Reportable Gas Release Incidents
2
0
0
0
Amount of Gas Released (tons)
15
0
0
0
Number of Reportable Spills
0
1
1
1
Volume of Reportable Spills (m3)
0.0
8.8
2.1
1.0
Protect the Environment
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