Restoration continues to progress in the world’s biggest anthropogenic oil spill in Kuwait as over 8 million tonnes of soil have been cleaned through washing and bioremediation as part of KAK-LAMOR JV/C’s clean-up efforts.

Over a decade ago, the Kuwait Environmental Remediation Program (KERP) was established by the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC), Kuwait National Focal Point (KNFP) and Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) to address the extensive damage resulting from the Gulf War.

The conflict left Kuwait’s landscape heavily contaminated with oil, including wet and dry oil lakes, contaminated soil, and sludge. Following the destruction of some 700 oil wells in the early 1990s, approximately 26,000,000m3 of soil was contaminated with crude oil, signalling the launch of one of the most extensive remediation programmes involving the cooperation and expertise of a consortium of international partners.

In Kuwait, three billion dollars of funding from the UNCC is contributing towards the clean-up of 300km2 with about 26 million cubic meters of oil-contaminated soil.

Part of this remediation work is managed by KAK-LAMOR JV/C, a joint venture between Kuwaiti EPC contractors Khaled Ali Al-Kharafi & Brothers Co. and Finnish remediation specialists Lamor.

KAK-LAMOR JV/C are undertaking two remediation projects, one in northern Kuwait, and another in southern Kuwait. These two projects account for approximately one quarter of the 300km2 contaminated area.

CDE, a leader in wet processing solutions, was appointed by KAK-LAMOR JV/C to supply two soil washing plants to support soil remediation efforts, one each in north and south Kuwait, in conjunction with its local partner Gulf Center United Industrial Equipment Co.

Construction of the soil washing plants started in 2023, with the facility in the north operating later that year, and the southern facility operational from early 2024. Both of these plants range from 50-100 tonnes per hour (tph) depending on the fines content of the feed material.

As the material is very diverse and has varying age particle size distribution (PSD), both soil washing and bioremediation are being used in this project, both of which complement each other. Whilst the majority of the material will be processed through bioremediation, soil washing is preferential for soils with greater than 5% level of contamination.

Darren Eastwood, Business Development Director at CDE commented: “The significance of this project cannot be understated. This program, the largest of its kind, aims to remediate and restore the affected areas, focusing on both environmental and socio-economic rehabilitation. The comprehensive approach of KERP includes cleaning, remediating, and revegetating the impacted zones to restore ecological balance and support the well-being of future generations.

“We have significant experience with this type of material which can be challenging to process, but we have a track record for successfully transforming this matter into valuable products which can be repurposed. And we can already see from the success of this project that washing works and is delivering the results we need. This cleanup effort is not just about restoring the land, it has major health and social implications, ensuring safer environments for communities and supporting Kuwait’s long-term sustainability goals.”

Soil washing offers a highly efficient remediation strategy, it can provide a throughput of up to 250 tph in one line which ensures fast treatment times and makes it ideal for large volumes, while the plant’s compact footprint minimises land use.

Since washing preserves the biological structure of the soil, treated soils remain biologically intact and suitable for recultivation. Soil washing also scores highly on ESG metrics thanks to its material recovery and reduced environmental liabilities.

Additionally, it’s readily integrated with downstream treatments, such as bioremediation or thermal desorption units (TDU), when needed as part of a treatment train.

Material processed through soil washing in the southern facility has an average clean output of <1%, meaning there is less than 1% contamination once washed. In the northern facility, the washed soil has an average clean output of <1%, which is then on some occasions processed by bioremediation.

Whilst work is well underway with this project, it has not been without challenge as Khaled Tubaileh, Deputy CEO, Khalid Ali al-Kharafi & Brothers explains.

“We have brought together a global consortium of contractors who are the best in the business to complete this work, but it has become more than that. We’ve developed long lasting relationships that are centred on our passion and dedication to seeing the success of this landmark project.

“These robust relationships have made it easier to navigate the challenges that we’ve been faced with. For example, when surveying the ground, we have found historical bombs which need to be managed carefully, and also the complexities that come with managing a team and fleet at the size we’re operating. As well as this, it is an intricate process and we are only able to process contaminated soil, so when extracting material, we have to be very precise, and careful not to disturb clean soil.”

One key challenge however was water management. Kuwait has no permanent rivers or lakes and receives minimal rainfall. Groundwater reserves are limited and primarily located in the north, with restricted recharge due to low precipitation.

But whilst water resource in Kuwait is limited, its water consumption per capita is among the highest in the world[1], which puts even more pressure on businesses to preserve as much water as possible. This is why water management was at the heart of the design.

During the washing process, each tonne of soil requires two tonnes of water. To secure sufficient water supplies, two 60 m³ lagoons were constructed. These lagoons store treated wastewater that is continuously recycled back into the washing operation as the plant itself is designed to recycle up to 90% of the water. This closed-loop system champions sustainability while significantly cutting operational expenses by eliminating the need for external water deliveries or fresh-water intake.

Discussing the collaborative part of this venture, Richard Hill, Chief Operations Officer at Lamor says: “It’s been an honour to be a part of this flagship project and to see the progress that has already been made. I think one of the key aspects of how this consortium has gelled is our like-mindedness. When we were appointing CDE for this project, it stood out to us that all manufacturing was completed in-house, and that’s the same approach we take at Lamor. It’s values like this that has made it easier to adapt and evolve with this initiative.”

Completion of this project will offer significant opportunity in Kuwait, with recultivation projects already underway, and the Kuwaiti government plans to grow trees and introduce animals back to the area.

It is expected these sections of the soil remediation project will be completed in early 2026.