KUWAIT CITY, July 24: The Environment Public Authority (EPA) announced on Wednesday that it has controlled the oil spill off Ras Julaiah after activating the national plan to confront and combat marine oil pollution and informing all concerned parties of the plan to address the spill. Deputy Director General for Technical Affairs at the authority, Dr. Abdullah Al-Zaidan, told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that based on the report received from the Interior Ministry's vertical aviation operations about monitoring an oil spill in the sea off Ras Julaiah, about six kilometers from the coast, the authority activated the plan to take the necessary measures to prevent the spill from reaching vital facilities on the southern coasts and to combat it.

Al-Zaidan added that the Kuwait National Petroleum Company secured the oil spill and combated it inside the sea, and also handled any spills before they reached the beaches off the monitoring area. He stated that coordination was also made with the Maritime Organization for the Protection of the Marine Environment to use satellite images to determine the extent and scope of the oil spill, indicating that the source of the spill is still unknown and that the area will be studied further to confirm the possible sources.

Al-Zaidan expressed his thanks to all parties participating in activating the national plan to confront and combat marine oil pollution, noting that the slick has been controlled and that the oil company and other concerned parties will complete the process of following up on the report and monitoring the marine environment and the coasts overlooking the area where the report is located opposite Ras Julaiah. The Kuwait Oil Company confirmed that the observed slicks are not at all the result of any operations carried out by the company in the area within the marine exploration project, but based on the company's great keenness to provide support to the Environment Public Authority and the concerned government agencies, the specialized teams were assigned to provide the necessary assistance to contain the slick, especially since they have the knowledge, experience, and efficiency in combating any oil slicks.