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Kuwait Oil Well Fires

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  • Aerial of burning Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_001_xs.jpg
  • Aerial of burning Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_002_xs.jpg
  • Aerial of burning Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_003_xs.jpg
  • Aerial of burning Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_004_xs.jpg
  • Aerial of burning Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_005_xs.jpg
  • Aerial of burning Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_006_xs.jpg
  • The burning Magwa oil fields near Ahmadi in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_007_xs.jpg
  • The fires of a a burning oil well reflected in the surrounding oil in the burning Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_009_xs.jpg
  • The burning greater Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_008_xs.jpg
  • A car's tail lights make red steaks down a road in the burning northern Al-Rawdhatain oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_010_xs.jpg
  • A small river of oil flows through the desert in the burning northern Al-Rawdhatain oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_011_xs.jpg
  • A lake of oil reflects a fire in the burning greater Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_013_xs.jpg
  • The burning Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991 were covered in oil that rained down from the clouds of oil smoke and oil shooting into the air after a fire had been extinguished. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_012_xs.jpg
  • An oil lake and devastated desert landscape in the burning greater Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_014_xs.jpg
  • Aerial of a non-burning oil well feeding an oil lake in the burning greater Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_015_xs.jpg
  • An oil lake and devastated desert landscape in the burning greater Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_016_xs.jpg
  • The burning Magwa oil fields near Ahmadi in Kuwait right after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. Some abandoned cattle are silhouetted by the burning oil well. They all died within a few weeks. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_018_xs.jpg
  • The burning Magwa oil fields near Ahmadi in Kuwait right after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. Tornados of fire are seen spinning off a burning well. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_019_xs.jpg
  • An aerial of the devastated desert landscape in the burning greater Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. The sand has been coated with oil from more than 700 wells that were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history. Firefighting equipment has been moved in to begin the process of extinguishing this burning well.
    KUW_017_xs.jpg
  • The burning Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991 were covered in oil that rained down from the clouds of oil smoke and oil shooting into the air after a fire had been extinguished. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history. Here a fire fighting crew from Wild Well Control sprays water on a fire so that they can move closer with heavy equipment and attempt to stop the flow with a "stinger?. A stinger is a tapered pipe on the end of a long steel boom controlled by a bulldozer. Drilling mud, under high pressure, is pumped through the stinger into the well, stopping the flow of oil and gas.
    KUW_020_xs.jpg
  • An aerial of the devastated desert landscape in the burning greater Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. The sand has been coated with oil from more than 700 wells that were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history. Firefighting equipment has been moved in to begin the process of extinguishing this burning well.
    KUW_021_xs.jpg
  • The Red Adair Company Capping an oil well after they extinguished the fire. The burning Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991 were covered in oil that rained down from the clouds of oil smoke and oil shooting into the air after a fire had been extinguished. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_022_xs.jpg
  • Kuwait oil well fires. Al Burgan field. Tornados of smoke reflected in oil lake.
    KUW_024_xs.jpg
  • An abandoned Iraqi tank in front of the burning Magwa oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in 1991. The desert was covered in oil that rained down from the clouds of oil smoke and oil shooting into the air after a fire had been extinguished. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_023_xs.jpg
  • A tornado of oil and smoke is mirrored in a vast lake of oil in the Al-Burgan Oil Fields, Kuwait. In this field alone, there were more than 300 oil wells set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops in the largest man-made environmental disaster in history. The $20 billion effort to extinguish the fires lasted until the end of the year. Each day, in this oil field alone, the loss was estimated at 5 to 6 million barrel. Huge burning oil lakes added smoke and oily rain to a nightmarish scene. May, 1991. (NPPA Winner; Communication Arts Winner).
    KUW_025_xs.jpg
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Peter Menzel Photography

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