Kuwaiti oil minister says he will offer resignation for oil field fire

Kuwait's oil minister says he will resign to take responsibility for a fatal oil field fire that has temporarily halted production in four northern fields.

Thursday's fire at Rawdatain, Kuwait's second-largest oil field, was sparked by an oil leak at a gathering center.

Four workers died and 19 were injured.

Afterward, electricity to Kuwait's other northern fields was cut because of damage to an electrical substation and a gas booster station.

It is not clear when production in the area will resume.

Northern fields, including Rawdatain, had produced 600,000 barrels of Kuwait's total daily output of more than 1.7 million barrels. The other fields shut down were Sabriya, Abdali, and Ratqa.

Kuwait has started revving up production from its other fields to gradually cover the shortage. Kuwait's crude oil stockpiles were an estimated 14 million barrels, enough to cover the production loss for 18-25 days.

The fire had a slight affect on oil markets on Friday. New York Mercantile Exchange ended the day at $20.38 a barrel for March delivery, 90 cents up from Thursday.

Oil Minister Adel al-Subaih said he had written and signed his resignation on Friday.

He said he would submit it on Saturday or Sunday, depending on when Sheik Saad Al Abdullah Al Sabah, Kuwait's crown prince and prime minister, could see him.