KUWAIT OIL SPILL: SEVEN KILOMETERS OF COASTLINE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 000078 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/RA AND OES; STATE PASS TO USAID; EPA FOR INTERNATIONAL; COMMERCE FOR NOAA; INTERIOR FOR INTERNATIONAL; EMBASSY AMMAN FOR ESTH HUB OFFICER E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/28/2019 TAGS: SENV EPET KU SUBJECT: KUWAIT OIL SPILL: SEVEN KILOMETERS OF COASTLINE AFFECTED REF: IIR 6 946 0080 09/KUWAITI GOVERNMENT REACTION TO DOHA POWER PLANT OIL SPILL Classified By: Econcouns Oliver John for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (SBU) Summary: An oil spill, caused by a leak January 13-15 at or near the Doha power station near Kuwait City, has affected seven kilometers of coastline on the city's western outskirts. Wildlife, including birds and mangroves, has been affected by the spill. The GOK's response has been ad hoc in nature, with multiple agencies involved in the sporadic clean up efforts. GOK officials state that the spill is under control but scientists warn of damage to bird sanctuaries and fishery stocks. End Summary. ¶2. (U) An unknown quantity of heavy, fuel-grade oil leaked from the Doha power station -- located on Kuwait City's western outskirts -- over a 24-48 period on approximately January 13-15. The resulting oil spill has affected approximately seven kilometers of coastline, stretching from the power station eastwards to the Shuwaikh neighborhood of Kuwait City. ¶3. (SBU) GOK sources have provided differing explanations for the leak: the GOK's official news agency, KUNA, referred to "the malfunction of a fuel cylinder"; an official at the Ports Authority said that a broken pipe resulted in the oil leaking through rain sewers onto the beach; and Al Watan newspaper reported that GOK officials said that an oil reservoir overflowed, sending oil into a ditch and eventually into the sea. ¶4. (SBU) Various GOK entities have been involved in the clean up efforts, ranging from the Ports Authority and the Kuwait City Municipal Government to the Ministries of Oil and Public Works to various subsidiaries of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC). Media reports state that different clean up crews made efforts to remove oil from some of the affected beaches in the days following the leak, including placing floating absorbent pads in the waters near some of the affected beaches. An unknown number of GOK vessels -- including at least one from the Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC),according to press reports -- also made waterborne efforts to stem the spill. The success of these clean up endeavors is unknown at this time. One environmental activist noted that the placement of absorbent pads on affected beaches in the spill's immediate aftermath may have caused the oil to spread further along the coastline, since the pads prevented the oil from sticking to the beaches in question. ¶5. (SBU) On January 17, senior officials from the GOK Environment Public Authority (EPA) and the Kuwait Ports Authority told journalists that the spill had been contained and the situation was under control. On January 26, an official from the GOK-funded Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) told a reporter from Al Qabas newspaper that the spill constituted an "environmental crisis," and that local fisheries stocks were at risk, as well as those in other parts of Kuwait's maritime areas, given that currents were spreading the oil spill. ¶6. (C) KISR's Environment Sciences Department Manager Dr. Adbul Nabi Al-Ghadban told Econoff that two KISR scientists had visited the site of the spill 21 January to take samples from the affected waters and beaches. He said that the current winter conditions meant that the oil was not emulsifying (disintegrating) at the same rate as it would in summer; hence, the oil was not dispersing and sinking, thus heightening the risk of environmental damage. He said mangroves were detrimentally impacted and described the overall effect of the spill as "severe" and "very devastating." He said that the GOK's EPA held primary responsibility for understanding the spill's effects on the environment, noting, however (off the record) that the EPA does not have the capacity or skills required to (i) assess and understand the environmental consequences of such a spill and (ii) draw up rehabilitation measures and estimate the costs thereof. He noted that existing GOK protocols required the EPA to act as focal point for confronting oil spills and to formally liaise with KISR. He said that, while he had been informally informed of the spill -- which prompted him to dispatch his two scientists -- EPA had not formally notified KISR of any request for assistance. Al-Ghadban would not comment on the GOK's clean up efforts in the past 10 days but said that the GOK's overall capacity in this area KUWAIT 00000078 002 OF 002 is decent, adding that KNPC and the Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) have well-trained teams, some of which have participated in both local and GCC exercises involving mock oil spills. ¶6. (SBU) Econoff contacted the Bahrain-based Marine Emergency Mutual Aid Center (MEMAC),an offshoot of the inter-governmental Regional Organization for the Protection of the Marine Environemnt (ROPME) with responsibility for monitoring oil spills in Persian Gulf waters. MEMAC's Captain Abdul Mumen Al-Janahi said that the GOK had notified ROPME/MEMAC that the spill was "under control" and that the GOK did not require any assistance from ROPME. Al-Janahi said that he had no other information on the spill beyond that which the GOK had reported. ¶7. (SBU) Journalists and environmental activists report that bodies of several dozen affected birds have been found, and that mangroves have been damaged. One environmental activist said that the affected area constituted one of Kuwait's last remaining migratory bird sanctuaries. ¶8. (U) A link to 13 photographs of the spill's aftermath is available at this public website: www.248am.com/mark/kuwait/terrible-oil-spill- in-kuwait. ¶9. (C) Comment: While limited in size, the oil spill has caused harm to bird populations, mangroves and other wildlife in Kuwait, though it is not yet possible to ascertain the severity of the damage. Post will remain in contact with KISR and EPA while their scientists undertake further environmental impact assessments. The GOK's response was clearly ad hoc in nature, as evidenced by the large number of governmental agencies involved in the sporadic clean up efforts and the lack of clarity on the cause(s) of the spill. The GOK EPA -- which has been leaderless since the last director-general stepped down two years ago -- continues to be under-resourced and lacks any mandate to assume a leadership position in environmental crises such as maritime oil spills. End Comment. ********************************************* * For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s Visit Kuwait's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ ********************************************* * JONES