In Kuwait, the UN funds the clean-up of a 114 square kilometre area with about 26 million cubic meters of oil-contaminated soil. The pollution is a consequence of the Gulf War, when hundreds of oil wells were torched in Kuwait, causing the world’s largest anthropogenic oil spill. The UN has awarded USD 3 billion for soil remediation activities in the area.

The joint venture of Lamor and Khalid Ali Al-Kharafi & Bros. Co., a local construction company, is responsible for two projects consisting of the planning and implementation of soil remediation in two individual soil treatment centres. The work includes development of the optimal solution, construction of treatment facilities, and treatment and restoration of oil-polluted soil.

The treatment technologies consist of both biological cleanup in windrows, i.e. bioremediation, for soils with lower petrochemical contamination, and mechanical soil washing for contaminated soil with a higher, i.e. over 5 percent hydrocarbon content. The projects began in 2021 and the biological remediation in 2023, followed by soil washing in 2024.

The design of the soil washing plants takes into account the sustainability aspects necessary to minimise environmental impacts as well as to reduce operating costs. For instance, the water used for the treatment origins from wastewater plants in Kuwait, and the plant itself is designed to recycle up to 70% of the water.

Legacy soil pollution is an enormous global problem. Lamor’s deep expertise and experience in soil remediation help provide right solutions everywhere, especially in demanding conditions. Remediation brings life back to once oil-polluted soil.  During the first nine months of operation in 2023, Lamor’s bioremediation solutions cleaned and restored over 1.5 million tonnes of soil. In 2024, a total of 2.7 million tonnes of soil was cleaned by both methods: bioremediation and soil washing.