A huge explosion caused by a leak from a pipeline at a key oil complex in the north of Kuwait last night killed two people and injured 17 others.
Firefighters were still battling the blaze at this morning, eight-and-a-half hours after the blast in Raudhatain near the Iraqi border.
The Kuwait Oil Co facility is one of the most important in the north, but officials said they could compensate for the lost supply.
"This is an accident, a technical fault due to a leak. There are no suspicions of terrorism or sabotage," a senior Kuwaiti official said.
Kuwait, which sits on almost 10 per cent of the world's oil reserves, said the blaze would have no impact on its supplies to the world market.
"Oil operations at Raudhatain have been stopped and we will compensate for the lost production from other fields," an official said. "Our supplies to the market will run unaffected".
Oil prices rose 55 cents to a peak of $20.03 per barrel on news of the fire but pulled back to $19.69 after the official said it would not affect supplies.