1978 · Kuwait Oil Company northern gathering centre and Kuwait City
Kuwait's oil-field objects
Part ofThe mirror
US Embassy Kuwait cable 79 KUWAIT 0486 (29 Jan 1979), page 1: the KISR committee report of 20 Jan 1979 on eight sightings from 9 Nov to 14 Dec 1978, and the 21 Jan front-page newspaper photos of another sighting over Kuwait City. · US Department of State (FOIA release), scan via 248am.com / Flickr
When9 November – 14 December 1978
WhereKuwait Oil Company northern gathering centre and Kuwait City
Backing2 independent
Evidenceofficial records
From 9 November 1978 oil workers at the Kuwait Oil Company's northern field reported objects overhead, and a senior company official said the automatic pumps shut down while the first one was there and restarted when it left. The government set up a scientific committee, which rejected spy devices and told U.S. diplomats it could not be sure they were not spaceships. A U.S. embassy cable records it.
Evidence, in date order (2)
- 20 Jan 1979Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research committeeofficialgovernment-appointed investigation; report released 20 Jan 1979 covering eight sightings
- 29 Jan 1979U.S. Embassy Kuwaitofficialcable 79 KUWAIT 0486 (Maestrone, 29 Jan 1979), released under FOIA in 2000 79 KUWAIT 0486
How plausible · High
A government scientific committee, a U.S. embassy cable and oil technicians; pumping equipment shut down under the object.
- ●●Access Technicians on site.
- ●●No gain sought Official.
- ●●Character record Government committee.
- ●●Independent convergence Seven technicians; several dates.
- ●●Checkable details check out Embassy cable.
- ●●Physical traces or official reaction Equipment shutdown.
Plausibility weighs how well an account fits where secrecy hides the documents by design, so missing records never count against it. Strength measures what is documented. Assessed 2026-10-23.
Claims
Scientists could not be sure the objects were not spaceships; the committee rejected espionage devices and recommended protecting airspace, territory and oil.firsthandOn the recordKISR representative Ratib Abu Id to U.S. embassy, cable 79 KUWAIT 0486
Automatic pumping equipment shut down while the first object was overhead and restarted when it left.secondhandOn the recorda senior KOC official, reported in the U.S. embassy cable
Seven KOC technicians, one of them American, watched the object.firsthandSourced, unconfirmedwire reports, 14 Nov 1978
Where
Kuwait Oil Company northern gathering centre and Kuwait City
29.9°N 47.7°E
In The picture
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