A severe dust storm paralyzed Kuwait Wednesday, suspending air traffic and oil exports, authorities said.

The Kuwait Petroleum Corp. also advised incoming ships to hold off on docking, the official Kuwaiti news agency KUNA reported.

A top oil official, Sheik Talal al-Khaled, said some maintenance work at refineries was halted as a precaution. But he said supplies to domestic and foreign customers will not be noticeably affected.

Kuwait normally produces 2.5 million barrels of crude oil daily.

Mohammad al-Thuwaini, acting director of operations at Kuwait International Airport, said incoming flights were diverted to neighboring countries. Visibility at the airport was down to 1,300 feet.