Iran confirms no leakage from its oil tankers

KUWAIT: An analysis of satellite imagery by a US-based nonprofit organization suggests at least 34,000 gallons of oil have leaked out during a spill off the coast of Kuwait. West Virginia-based SkyTruth says satellite photos from the day of the spill off southern Kuwait show it spread over a distance covering 131 square kilometers (50.5 square miles). In a blog post early Wednesday, SkyTruth also noted a pipe-laying ship was transiting through the area at the time of the spill. Authorities have yet to definitively identify the source of the leak, though they initially suspected it came from a tanker. The leak was discovered on Friday. Authorities in tiny Kuwait, an OPEC member home to the world's six-largest estimated oil reserves, said they discovered another leak on Tuesday. This story has been corrected to show SkyTruth believes at least 34,000 gallons have spilled in the leak, not barrels.

In another development, Tehran has confirmed that there was no oil leakage from the pipelines or oil tankers in Iran, Kuwaiti Minister of Oil and Minister of Electricity and Water Essam Al-Marzouq said yesterday. Last Tuesday Al-Marzouq said that contacts were made with neighboring countries to inquire about any oil leakage that could be related to an oil spill discovered near Messilah coast. KOC moves several vessels to control Messilah oil spill

Meanwhile, Minister of Oil Essam Al-Marzouq said that the Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has moved a number of its vessels to the Messilah coast, south of the capital, to control a newly-discovered oil spill. The revelation was made after authorities recently scrambled to deal with an oil slick that floated off the coast of Al-Zour, south of the country. KOC vessels and the Kuwait Fire Service frigates will survey the surrounding areas for other oil spills, Al-Marzouq, also minister of electricity and water said.

He added that contacts are made with neighboring countries to inquire about any oil leakage or any information that could be related to the new oil spill. He pointed out that these moves were taken after receiving a report today afternoon about the detection of a new oil spill near the Officers Club off Messilah coast. Al-Marzouq noted that Kuwait is carrying out aerial and sea surveys of the territorial waters as well as contacting international environmental organizations to get satellite images of the area over the past few days in order to collect information that could lead to identifying the source of this spill. He admitted that the ministry does not currently possess any information regarding the source of the oil spill. - Agencies