KUWAIT: Kuwait on Wednesday marked 33 years since the last oil well set ablaze by Iraqi forces was put out, after the complete withdrawal of the invaders, who were overwhelmed by the US-led international coalition in February of 1991. The highly emblematic event back in 1991 is commemorated in Kuwait each year given its sheer significance in the nation’s history, as the country was ultimately liberated from a large-scale invasion by its larger neighbor, with Iraqi forces setting fire to 737 oil wells while 54 others were completely destroyed, triggering an environmental calamity.
In addition to the raging fires, which in and of themselves induced an environmental impact, the blaze resulted in an oil spill of mammoth proportions, in which some 23 million barrels were wasted in a loss worth $120 million per day. The damage sustained by Kuwaiti oil facilities, which required endless time and effort to repair, proved detrimental to the global economy, which slipped into recession for nearly seven months in the aftermath of the destruction.
After Kuwait’s liberation, state bodies leapt into action to assess the scope of the damage, putting together short- and long-term solutions that centered on immediate efforts to put out the blazing oil wells, simultaneously re-supplying a starving global oil market with much-needed Kuwaiti crude. Reconstruction efforts that stretched through day and night hours were not a national endeavor alone; rather, Kuwait partnered with global bodies with vast knowledge on the matter in a bid to restore proper conditions to the damaged oil facilities.
The daunting task, as explained by state-run Kuwait Oil Company’s (KPC) soil rehabilitation department chief Sami Al-Yaqout, conventionally requires at least five years to complete, while it was done in eight months thanks to the strenuous efforts of the Kuwaiti national workforce and their international partners.
In September of 1991, KPC formed a team tasked with extinguishing the burning wells, who, despite limited resources and a lack of expertise, managed to get it done in an effort praised by senior firefighter back then, Ishaq Al-Qaed. Upon putting out the last blazing oil well, Kuwait organized a lavish ceremony to mark the occasion, attended by the late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, an event that will forever live in the annals of the nation’s history. — KUNA