Page 7 - MEOG Week 12 2023

MEOG PRICES & PERFORMANCE MEOG

Kuwait declares state of

emergency following oil spill

KUWAIT KUWAIT Oil Co. (KOC) declared a state other spill, close to a joint Saudi-Kuwaiti oilfield,
of emergency on March 20 after an oil spill may have released up to 35,000 barrels of crude.
occurred in a location in the west of the country. Kuwaiti environmental activist Khalid
In a statement, the KOC’s deputy CEO for Al-Hajire expressed his concerns regarding the
administrative affairs and official spokesman, environmental damage resulting from the oil
Qusai Al Amer, said that the leak had caused leak. “The oil pollution we constantly see in the
some injuries to personnel, according to Kuwait air, land and sea proves that the oil industry is
News Agency (KUNA). However, no poison- not sufficiently serious when it comes to pro-
ous gas leakage was detected at the site of the tecting the environment,” said Al-Hajire, who
incident. is the chairman of the Green Line Environmen-
At time of publication, KOC teams are still tal Group, a non-governmental organisation
working to contain the situation. (NGO). “We are facing a recurring problem due
The emergency was triggered by an “oil leak to leniency and non-compliance with environ-
in the west of the country”, the state-owned mental and safety standards,” he told AFP, crit-
company said in a statement, as video posted icising Kuwait’s Environment Public Authority
by Kuwaiti media showed a gushing pipe sur- for “not dealing firmly with the oil sector.”
rounded by a large slick of oil. According to Kuwaiti oil expert AbdulSamee
“No injuries have occurred as a result of the Bahbahani, the leak appears to have originated
leak and production has not been affected,” said from an abandoned oil well, citing images cir-
company spokesman Qusai Al-Amer, adding culating on social media networks. “I think the
that no toxic fumes had been reported. The leak well was closed improperly, which led to erosion
“occurred on land but not in a residential area”, of the pipes and the cement cover, as well as an
he later told AFP. Teams have been dispatched increase in pressure,” he said, explaining the
to determine the source of the leak and contain reason for the oil gush and warning that a spark
the incident, Al-Amer said, declining to give the could ignite a fire.
exact location or the extent of the spill. During the first Gulf War in 1991, retreating
In 2016 and 2020, KOC previously reported Iraqi forces set fire to hundreds of Kuwaiti oil
oil leaks in its fields. Kuwait experienced two oil wells in blazes that took months to extinguish.
slicks off its shores in August 2017, including The impact on the environment and the local
one that was 1.6-km long. Experts stated that the population was devastating.™

Week 12 22•March•2023 www. NEWSBASE .com P7