Saudi Aramco on Tuesday confirmed it had canceled the contract of cleaning empty methanol barrels when it discovered the contractor had violated the safety and environmental procedures and breached the terms of contract.
To verify the authenticity of what had been published in the media previously, Saudi Aramco sent a specialist team from the Environmental Protection Department to the site in Saihat, Eastern Province. The team took samples from the soil and water to verify the components and investigated what the contractor did with the methanol remnants after cleaning the barrels.
The results of these samples and a precise examination of the contractor’s work method showed an explicit violation of safety and environmental procedures. The team also found out the contractor had breached the terms of contract, discovering it was pouring methanol onto the farmlands and washing its empty barrels there.
“The contractor must comply with government standards and environmental requirements adopted by Saudi Aramco in its work, including the disposal of contaminated water and chemical waste fluids, and must get rid of these fluids at sites that have already been approved to be used for this purpose,” a spokesman for Saudi Aramco said.
Consequently, Saudi Aramco decided to immediately terminate the work assigned to the contractor.
The company has also emphasized its willingness to cooperate with the competent authorities to detect any damage to the surrounding environment of the farms due to contractor’s violation and take the appropriate measures to eliminate it.
Aramco cancels contract with methanol cleaning contractor
