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An undamaged oil well in Iraq's Rumaila Oil Field, in southern Iraq. Some of the wells were set on fire with explosives placed by retreating Iraqi troops when the US and UK invasion began. Seven or eight wells were set ablaze but at least one other was detonated but did not ignite. The Rumaila field is one of Iraq's biggest oil fields with five billion barrels in reserve. Many of the wells are 10,000 feet deep and are under high pressure from natural gas. The bigger blowouts are wasting 10,000 barrels a day. Rumaila is also spelled Rumeilah.

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IRQ_030401_143_x.jpg
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©Peter Menzel, www.menzelphoto.com
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An undamaged oil well in Iraq's Rumaila Oil Field, in southern Iraq. Some of the wells were set on fire with explosives placed by retreating Iraqi troops when the US and UK invasion began. Seven or eight wells were set ablaze but at least one other was detonated but did not ignite. The Rumaila field is one of Iraq's biggest oil fields with five billion barrels in reserve. Many of the wells are 10,000 feet deep and are under high pressure from natural gas. The bigger blowouts are wasting 10,000 barrels a day. Rumaila is also spelled Rumeilah.