Oil pollution threatens Egypt’s ‘super coral’, investigation finds

As Egypt hosts world leaders at climate summit COP27, an oil terminal is dumping toxic wastewater on its Red Sea coast, a BBC News Arabic investigation has found.

A rare form of coral, that offers hope for preserving ocean life as the planet warms, could be a casualty.

Leaked documents obtained by the BBC and non-profit journalism group SourceMaterial reveal that "produced water" from Egypt's Ras Shukeir oil terminal is being dumped into the Red Sea every day.

The papers, which were issued by the Gulf of Suez Petroleum Company (Gupco) in 2019 to try to hire a company to treat the water, say the pollution levels "do not comply" with Egyptian environmental laws.

Gupco and Egypt's environment ministry did not respond to the BBC's request for comment.