HURGHADA - An oil spill, which was detected at Egypt's Red Sea coast in Hurghada, could have come from a ship emptying its tanks in the Gulf of Suez, as the spill was limited, a report by the country's Ministry of Oil said Thursday. "The oil leak was not continuous. This is an indication that it could not have spilled from an oil rig," the report said. "There is evidence that sediments on some islands have turned into a liquid state due to hot weather, and driven it to the shore," it said. The report added that oil rigs in the Gulf were set up 45 years ago, and similar leaks had been also detected on the Mediterranean Sea, where no oil rigs exist. "It is quite clear that the leak could never have come from an oil rig," it added. Egyptian media said Saturday that the leakage had caused a spill 20 kilometres long along the coast of the Red Sea city Hurghada, 504km east of Cairo. On Tuesday, Egypt's Minister of Oil Sameh Fahmi said the Government was considering reducing drilling in the Gulf of Suez after crude washed ashore for several days. On Monday, the Prime Minister's spokesman Magdy Rady said a spillage from an oil rig was the "probable cause" of the leak, adding that an investigation was ongoing to determine the source of the pollution. Egypt produces about 700,000 barrels a day and the oil ministry says there are 188 rigs operating in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Suez, where the country's largest oil field, Belayim, is located.
