Dutch PM visits Kuwait Petroleum refinery in Rotterdam

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte accompanied by high level government officials and representatives from Dutch employer and employee associations visited the Kuwait Petroleum Europort (KPE) refinery in Rotterdam Monday. "KPE had been selected for this visit by the Dutch government because it is a well-known employer in the port of Rotterdam," Wael Salmeen, Managing Director of KPE, told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA). After a bus tour on the refinery premises, Rutte and his delegation were welcomed in the Maintenance Rotating Workshop by KPE Management and technicians. "In addition to the investments in the refinery itself, KPE also invests heavily in the education of its employees. KPE has recently developed a new Maintenance training program for its Maintenance Technicians. With this new training program KPE is able to better educate and train its new employees," said Salmeen. KPE has invested more than USD 120 million in the "Turnaround" at the refinery which is necessary to maintain a safe and reliable operation. Turnarounds are scheduled events wherein an entire process unit of a refinery is taken offstream for an extended period for revamp and renewal. The scope of this Turnaround is the highest in the history of KPE, stressed Salmeen. The refinery will now run for five years continuously without any planned mechanical activities. "We have been working for more than two years on preparations and proper planning. The start of the Turnaround was very promising. All units have been shut down without any safety incidents, without environmental impact and on time," he added.