KUWAIT: The Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) works on cutting spending on maintenance up to 15 percent, in light of a sustained low oil price, an official said yesterday. In remarks to reporters on sidelines of the second annual meeting on maintenance, Mohammad Saud Al-Shammari, a maintenance manager at KNPC's Shuaiba Refinery, stressed that the cut will not be at the expense of the company's security and safety.

The company spends about $200 million for maintenance works at its three refineries, he said. He underlined importance of curbing unscheduled suspensions of refineries across the globe as resumption of their productions needs up to six days, indicating that this process causes a big loss.

The company will create a new strategy of maintenance, in light of carrying out some new projects worth $30 billion, he said, expecting that these projects will form a quantum leap in managing maintenance due to the use of modern technology.

He said the company adopts the policy of recruiting about 25 percent of Kuwaitis who are trained on maintenance works of the new projects, adding that this process provides skills and experiences to them during different circumstances. The main axis of the meeting, which features a number of international companies, is maintenance engineering in order to improve performance of individuals and equipment as well, he noted.

Shammari stressed the importance of maintenance works to approve refineries internationally, amid the current crisis of oil price. He expressed his delight at the participation of international experts and companies providing maintenance works, seeing the meeting as an opportunity to share experience in this regard.

Meanwhile, Michael Trener, an international maintenance expert, said the development of human resources and technological capabilities are key factors to prevent the unscheduled suspensions of refineries. He stressed the importance of uncovering the causes of suspensions to avoid big losses, calling for evolving skills of employees on how to use equipment. - KUNA