KUWAIT CITY – A fire that erupted at an oil well in northern Kuwait has been extinguished, the Gulf nation’s state news agency reported Wednesday.
Government-run Kuwait Oil Co. announced the fire earlier in the day, with an official saying that firefighters were working to put it out.
Company spokesman Saad al-Azmi was quoted by the official Kuwait News Agency saying the incident began with an oil spill that happened late Tuesday. He did not specify where it took place or anything about its size.
The agency reported early Wednesday evening that Kuwait’s prime minister, Sheikh Jaber Al Mubarak Al Sabah, later visited the site and praised efforts that led to “the speedy extinguishing of the fire.”
Al-Azmi earlier said that thick gas seen being emitted at the site was “caused by putting out the blaze.” He did not elaborate, but the news agency said that the Environmental Public Authority confirmed that the gas contained no hazardous elements.
Tiny OPEC member Kuwait is a major oil producer. The U.S. Energy Information Administration says Kuwait produces some 2.6 million barrels of crude oil a day and holds the world’s sixth-largest oil reserves.
