Britannica
Sources used in this answer
- 9 of the Biggest Oil Spills in History - The Persian Gulf War Oil Spill (1991)
- Persian Gulf War - Casualties, Kuwaiti oil fires, and Gulf War syndrome
- history of Kuwait - Kuwait during the Iran-Iraq War
- Kuwait - Oil
- Kuwait - Economy
- history of Kuwait - Invasion of Kuwait in the Persian Gulf War
- Persian Gulf War - The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait
How did Iraqi forces damage Kuwait’s oil industry during the Persian Gulf War?
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During their retreat from Kuwait at the end of the Persian Gulf War, Iraqi forces inflicted severe damage on the country's oil industry through two primary actions:
- Oil Well Fires: Iraqi troops set fire to more than 700 of Kuwait’s 950 oil wells, as well as various oil storage installations. These fires burned for months, consuming approximately six million barrels of oil per day and creating a massive environmental disaster that blanketed the region in toxic smoke and soot.12
- Oil Spills: In an attempt to deter coalition forces from conducting amphibious landings, Iraqi troops released hundreds of millions of gallons of oil from the Sea Island terminal into the northern Persian Gulf.3
This deliberate destruction was part of a broader campaign of pillage and theft of economic assets carried out during the occupation. By the fall of 1991, the fires were extinguished, and Kuwaiti oil production eventually returned to pre-invasion levels.452