The Kuwait Oil Company, Kuwait’s national oil company, announced a “state of emergency” on Monday after an onshore oil leak was identified. According to the same source, no casualties or interruption of production were noted. “A state of emergency has been declared due to an oil leak in the west of the country,” the Kuwait Oil Company said in a statement, without specifying the exact location of the incident.
“No toxic fumes were reported on the site,” said company spokesman Qusai Alamer, indicating that teams had been sent to the site to determine the origin of the leak and contain it. Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai posted a video on Twitter showing large amounts of oil gushing out of a pipe in an arid terrain.
Already leaks in previous years
The authenticity of this video could not be immediately verified by AFP or by 20 minutes. Kuwait is one of the world’s leading crude oil producers. Nearly 90% of its income comes from oil.
A key member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), it currently produces around 2.7 million barrels per day. The Kuwait Oil Company had reported several oil leaks in recent years. In 2017, two oil slicks were identified off the coast of the country in the space of a few days.