Kuwaiti oil fires

The oil-well fires ignited by retreating Iraqi forces in Kuwait in 1991, creating immense smoke plumes and causing environmental and economic damage.

Oil well fire: An uncontrolled fire involving crude oil escaping from a well. The Kuwaiti fires were an unusually large, coordinated instance of this type of fire.
Oil-spill remediation: Methods for removing or containing petroleum contamination in soil, water, and shorelines. Escaping oil formed lakes and contaminated land, requiring cleanup alongside firefighting.
Iraqi invasion of Kuwait: Iraq’s military occupation of Kuwait, which began on 2 August 1990. The invasion and occupation set the events leading to the fires in motion.
Burgan oil field: A large oil field in southeastern Kuwait and one of the world’s major producing fields. Burgan was among the prominent fields affected by the 1991 fires.
Well blowout: An uncontrolled release of oil or gas from a well after pressure control fails. Explosives and damaged wellheads drove oil into the air, feeding many fires.
Black rain: Dark precipitation containing soot or other airborne particles washed from the atmosphere. Soot from the plumes mixed with moisture and fell in dark deposits in some areas.
Gulf War: The 1990–1991 conflict in which a U.S.-led coalition expelled Iraqi forces from Kuwait. The fires were set during Iraq’s retreat near the end of the conflict.
Kuwait Oil Company: Kuwait’s state-owned company responsible for oil and gas exploration and production. Its engineers and records supported the effort to restore damaged fields.
Oil well firefighting: Techniques for extinguishing fires at oil wells and controlling escaping hydrocarbons. Specialist teams used explosives, water, and well-control equipment to extinguish the Kuwaiti fires.
Soil contamination: The presence of harmful substances in soil at levels that can damage ecosystems or human health. Oil and combustion residues persisted in desert soils around affected fields.

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