Preliminary Assessment of Oil Contamination Levels in Soils Contaminated with Oil Lakes in the Greater Burgan Oil Fields, Kuwait

Measurements taken for total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs), total organic carbon (TOC) and trace metals [vanadium (V), nickel (Ni), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb)] in 40 soil samples are used to delineate oil contamination levels and state of oil penetration in soils heavily contaminated with oil lakes in Al-Ahmadi and Burgan oil fields. All soil horizons in Al-Ahmadi profile contain very high concentrations of TPHs down to the depth interval 80–95 cm. In contrast, TPH contaminations are restricted to the upper 50 cm layer in the Burgan profiles, then drop sharply to natural background levels in subsequent soil horizons. A strong and positive relationship exists between the high TOC and TPH contents of the two profiles.