In August 2017, Water. Desalination + reuse (Faversham House) reported that the Az Zour North desalination plant in Kuwait had been taken offline temporarily to protect it from an oil spill. Oil escaped on 13 August near the offshore Al-Khafji field, shared by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, in an estimated volume of about 35,000 barrels. Andy Biffen, who heads the project company Az Zour Shamal, said the plant was off for 48 hours until oil readings in the water dropped and then returned to full output without lasting effects.
The incident showed how exposed Gulf seawater intakes were to oil pollution and that a short, controlled shutdown could shield a plant from damage.