KUWAITI'S OIL WELLS DESTROYED

File: 062096_cia_68367_68367_01.txt
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Subject: KUWAITI'S OIL WELLS DESTROYED

Not Finally Evaluated Intelligence







TO FACILITATE ELECTRONIC ACCESS, THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN

REFORMATTED TO ELIMINATE INFORMATION THAT DOES NOT PERTAIN

TO GULF WAR ILLNESS ISSUES OR THAT IS CLASSIFIED. A COPY OF

THIS REDACTED DOCUMENT, IN ORIGINAL FORMAT, IS AVAILABLE ON

REQUEST.







PAGE 001

DEC 91







CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY







COUNTRY:  KUWAIT



SUBJ: 1. KUWAITI DRILLING OPERATIONS AS OF LATE NOVEMBER 1991

2. STATUS OF THE NEXT PHASE OF KUWAITI RECONSTRUCTION

OPERATIONS



DOI: MID-OCTOBER 1991 - NOVEMBER 1991







SUMMARY OF THE TOTAL 800 WELLS WIRED WITH EXPLOSIVES IN KUWAIT BY

DEPARTING IRAQI TROOPS, APPROXIMATELY 44 WELLS WERE BACK IN

PRODUCTION AS OF LATE NOVEMBER. OF THE 800 WELLS, A TOTAL OF 751

WELLS WERE BLOWN UP, EXCLUDING THE WELLS IN THE WAFRA AREA, AND 698

WELLS REQUIRED SOME TYPE OF FIRE CONTROL







TEXT: 1. OF THE TOTAL 800 WELLS WIRED WITH EXPLOSIVES IN KUWAIT BY

DEPARTING IRAQI TROOPS, APPROXIMATELY 44 WELLS WERE BACK IN

PRODUCTION AS OF LATE NOVEMBER 1991. THESE 44 WELLS WERE MINIMALLY

DAMAGED BY IRAQI SABOTAGE EFFORTS.







THE IRAQIS RELIED HEAVILY UPON PRIMACORD TO

BLOW UP THE WELLS. IN MANY CASES, THE PRIMACORD WAS BADLY HANDLED BY

THE IRAQI SOLDIERS, AND THE ACCOMPANYING ELECTRICAL CORDS SIMPLY

FAILED TO GO OFF. IN OTHER CASES, THE CORDS WERE CUT BY MEMBERS OF

THE KUWAITI RESISTANCE OR DESTROYED BY VEHICULAR TRAFFIC DURING THE

EARLY STAGES OF THE GROUND WAR.)



2. OF THE 800 WELLS WIRED WITH EXPLOSIVES, A TOTAL OF 751

WELLS WERE BLOWN UP, EXCLUDING THE WELLS IN THE WAFRA AREA. SIX

HUNDRED AND NINETY EIGHT WELLS REQUIRED SOME TYPE OF FIRE CONTROL; A

TOTAL OF 603 WELLS WERE BURNING OUT OF CONTROL. EIGHT WELLS LOCATED

IN THE RUMAILA FIELD WERE NEVER WIRED FOR DEMOLITION AS THE WELLS IN

THE FIELD WERE SHUT IN AT THE TIME OF THE IRAQI INVASION OF KUWAIT.

(SOURCE COMMENT: BECAUSE THE WELLS ARE LOCATED IN THE DISPUTED ZONE,

IT IS BELIEVED BY KUWAITI OFFICIALS THAT THE IRAQIS DECIDED TO LEAVE

THESE WELLS ALONE RATHER THAN DESTROY WELLS IN AN AREA THEY CLAIMED

RIGHTFULLY BELONGED TO IRAQ.)



3. AT A MINIMUM, 75 WELLS, BUT POSSIBLY AS MANY AS 200 WELLS,

WILL BE PLUGGED AND ABANDONED.          THE 75 WELLS WERE

CAPPED BY FILLING THE HOLES WITH CEMENT DURING THE VERY EARLY STAGES

OF THE FIRE FIGHTING EFFORT. MANY WELLS IN THE BURGAN FIELD ARE NOT

ECONOMICAL TO REWORK AND WILL PROBABLY BE PLUGGED AND ABANDONED.

THESE WELLS ARE CIRCA 30 TO 40 YEARS OLD AND HAVE EXPERIENCED

CORROSION PROBLEMS FOR MANY YEARS. THE MECHANICAL CONDITION OF THESE

WELLS HAS FURTHER REDUCED THEIR INTEGRITY. IT WILL BE CHEAPER TO

PLUG AND ABANDON THESE WELLS THAN TO RE-WORK THEM. WHAT REWORKING IS

DONE ON THEM WILL MAINLY BE SOME POST-CAPPING WORK SO AS TO MAKE THEM

IMMUNE TO FUTURE BLOWOUTS.)



 4.          A TOTAL

OF NINE DRILLING RIGS IN-COUNTRY, OF WHICH SIX WERE OPERATIONAL AND

DRILLING IN THE BURGAN FIELD. ALL NINE RIGS ARE DRILLING RIGS.

THERE WERE NO WORKOVER RIGS IN KUWAIT.

A TOTAL OF 18 RIGS WILL BE REQUIRED TO

ADEQUATELY CONDUCT THEIR DRILLING PROGRAM. EACH OF THE NEW WELLS IS

PRODUCING APPROXIMATELY 5000 BARRELS PER DAY (BPD). IT IS CURRENTLY

TAKING 2.5 WEEKS TO DRILL EACH NEW WELL IN THE BURGAN FIELD. EACH

WELL IS BEING DRILLED TO A DEPTH OF 4700 FEET          IT

IS TAKING MORE TIME TO RUN THE PIPE INTO THE HOLE THAN TO ACTUALLY

DRILL THE WELL. EFFORTS ARE BEING CONCENTRATED IN THE SHALLOWER

ZUBAYR WELLS IN THE BURGAN FIELD RATHER THAN IN THE MARRAT FORMATION,

WHICH REQUIRE DEEPER DRILLING. FIVE TO SIX WELLS CAN BE DRILLED IN

THE BURGAN FIELD IN THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME IT WOULD TAKE TO DRILL

ONE WELL IN THE MARRAT FIELD.)







5. NEW WELLS ARE BEING DRILLED ONLY IN THOSE AREAS WHERE THE

GATHERING CENTERS ARE OPERATIONAL. AS OF LATE NOVEMBER, GATHERING

CENTERS NOS.1,2,9,10 AND 11 WERE BACK IN OPERATION. GATHERING

CENTERS NOS. 14 AND 16 EXPERIENCED TOTAL MELTDOWN.







THE CAPACITY OF THE LARGEST GATHERING CENTER

IS APPROXIMATELY 250,000 BPD.          THE KUWAITIS ARE

BEING FORCED TO FLARE WET GAS 24 HOURS A DAY WHICH IS MAKING THE

SKIES AS BLACKAND DIRTY AS THEY WERE DURING THE BLOWOUTS.)





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