Kuwait/Iraq: History: November 6, 1991 Canadians Cap the Last Oil Fire in the Gulf War

Nov 6, 2015 | Marc Montgomery, Radio Canada International
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In 1990, after a long-standing feud with neighbouring Kuwait, Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi army invaded the country. Iraq had accused Kuwait of slant drilling into Iraq’s Rumaila oil field, and then of overproducing oil beyond OPEC treaty limits, causing a drop in world oil prices. This was the beginning of the Gulf War.  As the American led allies became involved and began advancing toward Iraq, the retreating Iraqis began setting fire to the oil wells and to lakes and trenches of oil they had created.