State of emergency declared in response to Kuwaiti oil spill

OPEC-member Kuwait declared a state of emergency Monday after an oil spill was reported in the west of the country. Officials offered few specifics other than to say no dangerous pollutants were coming from the site. File Photo by Mohamed Messara/EPA-EFE

March 20 (UPI) -- A Kuwaiti oil company on Monday declared a state of emergency after reporting an oil spill, though it stressed there were no major signs of extreme pollution.

In a statement carried by the official Kuwait News Agency, the Kuwait Oil Co. declared an emergency after reporting an oil leak in the western part of the country.

Deputy CEO Qusai al-Amer said nothing of the volume, adding only that personnel were injured in the incident. Nothing harmful in terms of poisonous gases that may be associated with the oil was released, he added.

A video posted from Kuwaiti news agency Al-Rai shows what appears to be black fluid rising from an inland well.



Response teams from the oil company were on the scene and working to contain the release.

Secondary sources reporting to economists at the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries show Kuwait is the fourth-largest crude oil producer in the group behind the United Arab Emirates, churning out around 2.6 million barrels per day.

The U.S. economy receives little crude oil from the country. OPEC economists put Kuwait as the third-largest exporter to Japan, behind Saudi Arabia and the UAE, respectively.