OIL IN THE GULF: THREE SLICKS

There are now believed to be at least three separate oil spills in the Persian Gulf. Precise tracking of the slicks has been nearly impossible, experts say, because of conflicting military reports and satellite data from the war zone. Here was the situation Tuesday:

A. The biggest, and most critical, was about 20 miles off the industrial city of Jubayl, home to some of the world’s largest desalination plants. Experts are paying close attention to winds, which so far have kept the oil from lapping onto the shore. The slick, which has broken into patches, could hit the island emirate of Bahrain on Saturday.

Background: This spill--between 280 million and 440 million gallons, the biggest spill in history--was apparently released deliberately by Iraqi forces from a tanker terminal off the Kuwaiti shore. Its dimensions are estimated at more than 70 miles long and 30 miles wide.

Cleanup: Experts from around the globe are on site working on cleanup efforts. Huge flotation booms have been deployed around water desalination plants, electricity generating stations and other facilities in Jubayl. The first part of a 19-mile oil “fence” from Japan arrived Tuesday. Two jumbo jets packed with control equipment from Houston are due to arrive Thursday.

B. The second spill is estimated to contain between 20 million and 40 million gallons of oil. It has washed ashore at the beaches and mangrove swamps near Safaniah, about 25 miles south of Khafji.

Background: Source is believed to be leakage from storage tanks in the Saudi coastal town of Khafji, hit by Iraqi artillery shortly after the war began Jan. 17.

Cleanup: Booms arrayed around a desalination plant have so far kept the oil at bay.

C. The third and smallest spill in the northern Gulf is believed to contain about 15 million gallons and is growing.

Background: The slick is reported to have originated in an Iraqi oil facility in the far northwestern corner of the gulf at Mina al-Bakr. It was not clear whether the spill was deliberate. It is estimated to be growing by about 2.1 million gallons a day.

Cleanup: Not known.

Sources: Applied Science Associates; Reuters