Kuwait News Agency reported that the country marked 35 years since the last of 737 oil wells torched by retreating Iraqi troops was extinguished on November 6, 1991. The ceremony to cap the final well in the Burgan field took place in the presence of the late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and symbolized national recovery following liberation. Firefighters from Kuwait and dozens of allied nations had battled the blazes for eight months to restore the oil fields.
The invasion-related fires erupted on February 21, 1991, as Iraqi forces withdrew, devastating Kuwait’s primary production areas including the Ahmadi, Burgan, Maqwa, Minagish and Wafra fields. In addition to igniting the wells, the occupiers created vast oil lakes that threatened groundwater and ecosystems across the desert landscape. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation teams later played a central role in the restoration effort that followed the environmental catastrophe.
Daily oil production losses reached between 4 million and 6 million barrels during the crisis, inflicting revenue shortfalls estimated at $120 million each day before factoring in long-term health and ecological costs, KUNA figures show. Gathering centers and export infrastructure suffered extensive damage that required years to fully repair. The thick black smoke from the fires plunged large parts of Kuwait into darkness even during daylight hours.
Temperatures across the country dropped by approximately 4 degrees Celsius amid the soot-filled skies, according to data cited by KUNA. Harmful residues coated buildings, vegetation and marine environments while affecting air quality for residents. The plumes extended across the Gulf, producing black rain as far away as parts of Central Asia and impacting Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iran and Oman.
More than 10,000 personnel drawn from 27 international teams joined the firefighting campaign, which assembled the largest collection of 5,800 specialized vehicles and tools ever gathered for a single operation, a KUNA assessment found. Kuwaiti crews independently extinguished 41 wells despite facing significant technical and resource constraints at the outset. The entire project concluded far ahead of pessimistic forecasts that had anticipated a multi-year ordeal.
The Kuwait Environmental Remediation Program established under the United Nations Compensation Commission has driven ongoing cleanup of 1991 contamination, with a KAK-Lamor joint venture announcing in January 2026 that it had processed approximately 6.5 million tonnes of oil-contaminated soil and secured an extension of its contract until July 2027 for additional areas in southern Kuwait. Kuwait Oil Company documentation from February 2026 recorded treatment of roughly 4 million tons and restoration of 5 million square meters in one northern sector alone through microbial and mechanical methods. These projects continue to address the legacy of the oil lakes and polluted desert that remained after the fires were capped.
