SAUDIS REPORT PROGRESS ON PERSIAN GULF SPILL

Saudi Arabia reports progress in cleaning up part of the spilled crude in the Persian Gulf but admits a daunting task still lies ahead. Latest estimates indicate recovery of about one sixth of the initial volume spilled. Meantime, the oil spill cleanup effort in the Persian Gulf is still being hampered by continued seepage of crude into the gulf from a number of tankers sunk near the Iraqi export terminal at Mina al-Bakr. Oil also is reported leaking from damaged facilities at the Mina al-Bakr

July 1, 1991

3 min read

Saudi Arabia reports progress in cleaning up part of the spilled crude in the Persian Gulf but admits a daunting task still lies ahead.

Latest estimates indicate recovery of about one sixth of the initial volume spilled.

Meantime, the oil spill cleanup effort in the Persian Gulf is still being hampered by continued seepage of crude into the gulf from a number of tankers sunk near the Iraqi export terminal at Mina al-Bakr.

Oil also is reported leaking from damaged facilities at the Mina al-Bakr terminal.

Iraqi officials reportedly are seeking permission from the United Nations to visit the terminal to assess damage and the extent of continuing oil seepage. The Meteorological and Environmental Protection Agency (MEPA) in Saudi Arabia also reported seepages of oil from the damaged Mina al-Ahmadi terminal in Kuwait.

SAUDI EFFORTS

MEPA, working in conjunction with Saudi Aramco Oil Co., has 70 vessels on oil cleanup duties along the coast. The cleanup effort is concentrated off and along badly polluted sections of coastline in northern Saudi Arabia.

There have been no official updates of spill cleanup efforts off Iran, whose coastline also has been contaminated.

Removal, evaporation, and landfall have left afloat less than 10% of the oil released by Iraq into the Persian Gulf, MEPA estimates.

Contractors and volunteers from more than half a dozen countries since late January have recovered more than 1.4 million bbl of oil, MEPA said.

That is five times the volume of oil the Exxon Valdez tanker spilled in Alaska's Prince William Sound and apparently history's highest sustained rate of oil recovery in a marine environment, said Nizar 1. Tawfiq, MEPA vice-president and coordinator of spill response activities.

Saudi officials estimate iraq released 6-8 million bbl of oil into the gulf while occupying Kuwait. Exxon Valdez spilled about 260,000 bbl of oil, about 8.4% of which was recovered.

Tawfiq said much of the oil remaining in the Persian Gulf-in sheens scattered on the water's surface-should evaporate or degrade.

But significant environmental problems remain, he added.

A survey of more than 500 km of Saudi shoreline by a MEPA led assessment team identified 125 zones soiled by waterborne crude.

To decide which zones to clean first, MEPA is ranking intertidal coastal areas according to relative environmental sensitivity and degree of damage.

"We're setting priorities so we put our resources where they'll make the biggest difference," Tawfiq said. "Moving too quickly could easily cause more harm than good."

Tests also are under way at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, to evaluate alternatives for cleaning salt marshes.

MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS

Tawfiq said the biggest contributor to the cleanup has been Saudi Aramco, which quickly protected facilities along the northeast Saudi coast and airlifted equipment from around the world to begin recovery.

As many as 17 vessels took part in early offshore recovery operations, although Iraqi-U.N. coalition fighting discouraged crews from moving north to contain escaping oil.

In addition to Saudi agencies, crews from the U.S., U.K., Japan, Netherlands, Australia, Germany, and Norway have participated in the spill cleanup effort. While praising results achieved by the multinational teams, Tawfiq called for more contributions of money and cleanup expertise from around the world.

"The largest oil spill in history is more than any single nation can take on," he said. "As we shift our focus to the sensitive shorelines, international assistance will be even more important."