The Minister of Environment and Water of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Rashid Bin Fahad said on Monday the Gulf Arab state is ready to respond to any major oil spill incident.

The UAE, a major oil supplier, has so far witnessed only minor incidents of oil spills, the minister said at the opening of the three-day fair and exhibition Offshore Arabia.

He added the UAE was cooperating closely with all local and international oil drilling ("upstream") companies operating in the UAE Gulf waters.

"The environment comes for the UAE first and our national oil companies have a very good track record in relation to safety standards," said Bin Fahad.

This year's conference runs under the title "Regional Oil Spill Prevention and Preparedness."

Two years ago the UAE was hit by a minor incident in the emirate of Umm al-Qaiwain, the minister said, adding that it did not cause any major damage to the seawater environment.



The Gulf state comprises seven sheikhdoms, namely Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al-Qaiwain, Ras Al-Khaima and Fujairah.

Ninety percent of the UAE oil and seven percent of the globally known oil reserves are located under the sands and seas of Abu Dhabi, also the capital of the Gulf Arab state.

Offshore Arabia 2014 hosts more than 100 companies from 23 countries and regions, with 20 percent growth in exhibition size compared to the previous edition.