The oil company Repsol confirms that the emissions are larger, but stated a slightly smaller volume than Ramirez.

The announcement came just hours after a court banned four executives of the Spanish oil company from leaving the country for 18 months.

The spill, which is described as an ecological disaster, occurred after tidal waves from the volcanic eruption in Tonga two weeks ago hit an oil tanker unloading oil at the refinery.

Oljebältet har spridit sig omkring 140 kilometer norr om raffinaderiet och lett till att ett okänt antal fiskar och sjöfåglar dött.