SERIOUS OILFIRE GAS AND SMOKE DANGERS

File: 970313_jun96_decls1_0016.txt
Page: 0016
Total Pages: 35

Subject: SERIOUS OILFIRE GAS AND SMOKE DANGERS                           

Unit: VII CORPS   

Parent Organization: ARCENT      

Box  ID: BX000249

Folder Title: ENGR PLAN INTEL                                                                                 

Document Number:          9

Folder Seq  #:         84





                                                   UNCLASSIFIED




                                                                                   AST-266OZ-148-90
                                                                                     9 January 1991



                                                   SECTION III


                                      KUWAITI OIL-WELL FIRES




             1. Introduction ('U)
                  a(u)@s noperm                          The overall Kuwaiti oil infrastructure,
             including oil wells, oil storage depots, gathering stations, major pumping
             stations, tank farms, refinery complexes, and oil/product loading terminals,
             &re mined with PE-4A plastic explosives.        PE-4A is a Fortugese-made, co=er-
             cially marketed plastic explosive, which is white or light gray in color and has
             excellent adhesive properties. PE-4A is similar to type C-4 plastic explosives
             and is a pentaerithrytol tetranitrate (PETN)-based explosive with a detonation
             velocity of 7000 to 8000 M/S.
                  b. (U,             Pifflib 11086@@96)  If the rraqlsl 'scorched earth" policy
             concerning Kuwait   is implemented, virtually all aspects of the Kuwaiti oil
             industry will be heavily damaged or destroyed. The massive fires, dense smoke,
             and toxic gas associated with this planned destruction are an immediate danger
             to troops entering the southern ICTO.
                  C.(Uke-mnvnntT laT---                   Both the shallow low-pressure and the
             deep high-pressure wells represent very serious wellhead f Lre dangers to all
             advancing troops in the KTO. The shallow wells will generate fires with fire/
             flames and smoke/gas released very near ground level. Most of this dense smoke
             will immediately rise through thermal convection and not hug the ground near the
igh-pressure wells (5000 psi) generate much greater fire/
             flame heights and release smoke and toxic combustion gases up to 400 meters
             (1200 feet) high. The fires at high-pressure wells also will be much hotter and
             far more difficult to approach or extinguish.        It could take several weeks or
             a month to extinguish a high-pressure well fire.


                  di, 1) Es !Fstastvo                     The cost to extinguish such fires Is
             about $1 000 000/high-pressure well.       There are approximately four US and one
             Canadian commercial oil-well firefighting firms capable of extinguishing such
             fires in Kuwait. These firms have specialized teams of professional engineers
             and firefighters and equipment to accommodate a limited number of blowouts.
             Presently, the Kuwaiti Petroleum Corporation has a $10 million contingency fund
             with these firms to repair uncontrolled blowouts caused by the Iraqi forces.






                                                        9




                                                UNCLASSIFIED

Document 35 f:/Week-24/BX000249/ENGR PLAN INTEL/serious oilfire gas and smoke dangers:0128971851472
Control Fields 17
File Room = jun96_declassified
File Cabinet = Week-24
Box ID = BX000249
Unit = VII CORPS
Parent Organization = ARCENT
Folder Title = ENGR PLAN INTEL
Folder Seq # = 84
Subject = SERIOUS OILFIRE GAS AND SMOKE DANGERS
Document Seq # = 9
Document Date =
Scan Date =
Queued for Declassification = 01-JAN-1980
Short Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Long Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Permanent Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Non-Health Related Document = 01-JAN-1980
Declassified = 13-FEB-1997