INVESTIGATION OF PERMEABILITY BEHAVIOR OF WET OIL LAKE CONTAMINATED SANDY SOIL AT AL-AHMADI FIELD IN KUWAIT

Abstract

The 1991 Gulf War saw the tragic burning of more than 600 oil wells which formed several oil
lakes that polluted Kuwaiti soils. The main aim of this paper is to discuss the apparent shift seen in the
permeability coefficient characteristics of the soil collected from Kuwait’s Al-Ahmadi oil field, likely to be
due as result of the aging sandy soil polluted with crude oil. The variations in coefficients of permeability were
analyzed using five uncontaminated and contaminated soil samples. In addition, alongside the permeability
coefficient analysis, grain size distribution, unified soil classification system analysis and Atterberg limit
testing were undertaken. The analysis of grain size distribution revealed a substantial decrease in the mean
value of different soil particles, where the overall outcome of variation in soil gradation was a poorer one. This
might occur because larger particles are forming out from fine particles, due to oil contamination. The unified
soil classification system shows that the contaminated samples were indeed well-graded, when compared to
the poorly graded in uncontaminated samples. The observed decrease in permeability values could be attributed
to the fact that the presence of oil is clogging the inter-particular spaces reducing water permeability. The
arguments and findings presented in this paper propose to support the treatment of contaminated soil, and are
based upon arguments on how oil contamination can affect grain size distribution and permeability.