Kuwait's Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery, the Opec member's biggest, restarted after a brief shutdown on Wednesday and is expected to return to full capacity within 24 hours, a spokesman for operator Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) said.

The refinery was forced to close after supplies of sea water pumped to it by pipeline stopped, but flows resumed shortly afterwards and the refinery has already been restarted, he said on Wednesday afternoon.

"We normally get our water from a government authority. There was a problem with supply at the source, possibly a broken pump or another problem with their system," the spokesman for the state-owned refiner said.-Reuters