TDI recently won a contract working with Western Geco in Kuwait providing a UXO search capacity capable of locating UXO and any other explosive hazardous material which may hinder or compromise the safety of WesternGeco’s seismic survey operations as they traverse the area.
During the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait from August 1990 through until February 1991, Saddam Hussein’s forces laid over 2 million land mines in staggered minefields along the country’s southern and western borders in an effort to deter any incursion by Coalition forces. These minefields were originally cleared in 1993 however the methodologies used were perhaps not as robust as they are today and as live mines still remain in the ground, although the concentration of these is not known. Certainly, during TDI’s time working in support of WesternGeco in 2006 – 2007 a number of mines were located in what were known to be previously cleared areas.
There will betwo separate capacities, one will conduct Battle Area Clearance working ahead of the seismic survey teams, ensuring that all UXO and other explosive hazardous materials are located and clearly marked for subsequent removal or destruction in situ by the Kuwaiti MOD EOD Team and the second will be clearance of the seismic corridor through the mine fields identified by WesternGeco.
TDI will deploy a mine clearance capacity to clear corridors through suspected mine fields along predefined seismic lines and a robust management, administration and logistics support capacity to ensure a high level of co-ordination with all stakeholders.
