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An oil well fire specialist of Red Adair, Co. of Texas works to prepare a well for capping by sawing off the damaged well head in the Kuwait oil fields. The fire has already been extinguished but the well is spewing oil and gas into the air under high pressure. The trick is to cut through the metal casing cleanly without causing any sparks that could reignite the well and incinerate the workers. The company was one of those brought in to fight the Kuwait oil well fires after the end of the Gulf War (July, 1991) More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.

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KUW_047_xs.jpg
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©Peter Menzel, www.menzelphoto.com
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Kuwait, Kuwait Oil Well Fires
An oil well fire specialist of Red Adair, Co. of Texas works to prepare a well for capping by sawing off the damaged well head in the Kuwait oil fields. The fire has already been extinguished but the well is spewing oil and gas into the air under high pressure. The trick is to cut through the metal casing cleanly without causing any sparks that could reignite the well and incinerate the workers. The company was one of those brought in to fight the Kuwait oil well fires after the end of the Gulf War (July, 1991) More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
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