(Reuters) – Kuwaiti authorities on Saturday were working on containing and cleaning up a crude oil spill in the country’s southern waters in the Gulf, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said in a statement.

KPC did not give the magnitude of the spill nor its cause but said different services were investigating the incident.

“Emergency oil teams are still working to put an oil spill near Kuwait’s southern Ras al-Zour area under control,” the statement said, citing Seikh Talal al-Khaled al-Sabah, Kuwait’s oil sector spokesman.

“Nearby beaches will be cleaned once power and water plants are secured and the oil spill is put under full control,” it added.

Ras al-Zour is where Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) is building the Middle East’s largest oil refinery with a capacity of 615,000 per day and $11.5 billion worth of contracts.

On Friday, Kuwait’s Environment Public Authority (EPA) said it was taking all appropriate measures in order to protect water outlets from the oil spill.