KUWAIT: A man walks along the coast of Arabian Gulf Sea. An oil spill was discovered recently off Kuwait coast. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

KUWAIT: Minister of Oil and Minister of Electricity and Water Esam Al-Marzouqi said yesterday the oil spots, found last week off Messila area, stemmed from old oil spills outside the territorial waters of Kuwait. "These oil spots have nothing to do with the recent oil spill in South Al-Zour area that prompted an effective response from Kuwait," the minister told Kuwait TV.

"Vessels from Kuwait Navy and Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) reached the scene and contained the oil spill within a few hours," he noted. "The Ministry of Oil abides by the policy of transparency in addressing oil accidents. Upon receiving notification of oil spots near the officers' club on Messila coast on August 11, the ministry started talking the problem and investigating the sources of the spill.

"Preliminary results of the probes show that the sources of the sill are old and stem from outside our territorial waters," he said, noting the Saudi and Iranian authorities affirmed that they received no reports in this regard. The final results, that will determine the exact source of the oil spill, will emerge after completing the analyses of the recent satellite images, he went on. The oil tankers responsible for the accident will be liable to sanctions on par with sanctions imposed by the United States following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also referred to as the Gulf of Mexico oil spill) in 2010, Al-Marzouqi added. - KUNA