Nowruz oil field explained

The Nowruz oil field located in the Persian Gulf, Iran, was the site of several 1983 oil spills.^[1]

1983 oil spills

One spill was initially caused by a tanker hitting a platform.^[2] In March, 1983, the platform was attacked by Iraqi helicopters and the spill caught fire. The Iran–Iraq War prevented technicians from capping the well until 18 September 1983. It was capped with cement.^{[3] [4]} Eleven people were killed during the capping.

A separate spill occurred when Iraqi helicopters attacked a nearby platform in March 1983. The rig well was capped in May 1985. Nine men were killed during the capping. Approximately 733,000 barrels (100,000 tonnes) of oil were spilled because of this incident.^[2]

Overall, 80 million gallons (about 236,000 tonnes) of oil were spilled.^[5]

References

1. Roger Vielvoye. 28 March 1983 . A messy reminder . Oil & Gas Journal. 57. London.
2. Web site: Emergency Response Division, Office of Response and Restoration, National Ocean Service . Nowruz Oil Field . IncidentNews . National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, US Department of Commerce . 2010 . 2010-05-12 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100513003226/http://www.incidentnews.gov/incident/6262 . 13 May 2010 .
3. News: Gulf War Blocks Effort to Stop Large Oil Spill. The Washington Post. Ottaway. David B.. A25. 30 March 1983.
4. Web site: Nowruz – Cedre. wwz.cedre.fr. 2016-08-02.
5. Web site: Oil Spills and Disasters. infoplease.com. 2 May 2010.

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