European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 10, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday april 10, 1991 the stars and stripes Page 3 in the . Crew puts out first Oil Well fire Kuwait up a mixing liquid nitrogen with a Stream of water and a dose of Texas grit and ingenuity american firefighters have finally extinguished a kuwaiti Oil Well Blaze. A this is the first one a said Larry flak the Overall coordinator of the firefighting efforts for the Kuwait Oil co. A we could do three or four a Day once we get up to Speed. We. Could set up an Assembly  a. A. A. A a 1. A a a a. A a a. As he spoke monday hundreds of Oil Well fires raged on. The fire at Well mg59 in Patch no. 9 was initially extinguished sunday. But it was promptly remit to prevent the Oil from gushing overnight while the Crew made a form fitted Cap to cover the wellhead. Early monday the fire was again extinguished by a relatively new process. Liquid nitrogen was pumped in to make the Oil non combustible and a steady flow of water was used to Cool the wellhead and prevent re ignition. Crews then poured mud and Concrete Down the Hole and began capping. A it ainu to that big a Deal. It was a Small one a shrugged boots Hansen his White uniform streaked with Black Oil. A now Well just go after another  Hansen 64, is co founder of boots amp Coots one of three Houston based terms with the fire breathing task of putting out several Hundred Oil Well infernos in the newly liberated emirate. Iraqi troops torched and blew up Oil Wells before fleeing the emirate in the face of a  coalition ground assault in february. »�.,���� kuwaiti officials estimate the number of burning Wells ranges from 350 to 500. They say 800 of the nations 1,000 Wells were damaged and that upward of $100 million Worth of Oil a Day is gushing out much of it going up in flames and spewing toxic fumes the firefighting Crews began arriving a month ago shortly after liberation but they have been confronted with numerous delays in getting needed equipment and water. They also had to wait for mines to be removed. On March 16, . Army sgt. Forrest Irvin while surveying the damaged Fields put out the first Oil Well fire when he slowly and careful turned a control wheel with his Bare hands. He also got covered with Oil. Two weeks ago wild Well control scored a Public relations coup by capping the first non burning Well in Kuwait a ravaged Fields. Since then about two dozen other non burning Wells have been sealed shut. Despite these successes pressure has boots and Coots firefighters Larry Nixon left and Ace Barnes direct efforts to drop a tube Over a burning Oil Well in Kuwait. Been building at least in the Media where Progress is tracked daily a for boots amp Coots wild Well and red Adair inc., the worlds Premier Oil Well firefighters to extinguish ablaze. A. Hansen said he tried something a Little different to accomplish the feat. Using a Crane the Crew placed an open Cylinder Over a Well with a 30-foot flame. Then it pumped liquid nitrogen through a Hole in the Cylinder which made the Oil non combustible. At the same time a heavy Stream of water cooled the wellhead and prevented the Oil from catching fire again. Just to make sure they had the process Down boots and his. Crew reignited the Well and put it out again. And then they did so one More time before leaving the Well burning for the night rather than spewing Oil. They extinguished the fire a final time monday and then proceeded to Cap the blown wellhead with a specially noted top. A. A a a a a Hansen said the firefighting technique will Likely work on All the relatively Small fires in the Field. But on the big ones those reaching More than 400-feet High and boiling on the intensely hot ground other Means will be needed. One traditional method for snuffing out major Oil Well fires entails a Crane operators suspending a barrel filled with explosives Between the wellhead and the Bottom of the flame. Then the worker runs for cover behind a shield and detonates the charge electronically. The blast sucks All the oxygen from the flame smothering the fire a a Christmas tree valve unit is lowered mopping the How. This method though requires a constant barrage o water and the Crews in Kuwait Are still waiting for special reservoirs to be tilled so they will have it. A we Are trying to Rig up a different Way to do it instead of digging up a whole lot of water pits which is time con suming a Hansen said. A i put one out like this in Canada one time. I figured it might work  flak with the kuwaiti Oil co., said that although sundays lire was rather Small the event was highly significant. A you could go from Well to Well to Well without a lot of Rig up or preparation a he said a we could Assembly line a lot of these blowouts  Oil hinders cleanup group charges Byg Regmore the associated press Kuwait City some 3,000 barrels of Oil Are still spilling daily into the persian Gulf. That adds to the of problems of those trying to clean up one of the worlds Argest Oil Slicks an environmental group said monday. The Oil is flowing from a sunken iraqi Tanker broken pipelines at Oil terminals and damaged offshore rigs in Southern Kuwait said Kerry Plowright of the Honolulu based group Earth Trust. A a lot of Oil is coming onto the beaches South of Kuwait City a said Plowright who recently flew Over the Oil spill. A where there should be thousands of Birds this time of year there Are Only hundreds a he said the estimate of daily spillage comes from Gary Ott a science support coordinator for the . National oceanographic and atmospheric administration. Ott joined Plowright on the recent overflight. A the sunken Tanker and broken pipelines Are near the kuwaiti port of shut Aiba and the damaged Oil rigs Are about four Miles offshore near the kuwaiti saudi arabian Border Plowright said. There is no visible Effort to Stop the spills which form Long thin Slicks he said. The Little Slicks have yet to link up with the main Slick created when iraqis deliberately opened pumps pouring Oil into the Gulf in january and by Allied bombing raids that hit Oil installations. According to the latest estimate by saudi arabians meteorology and environmental Protection administration the big Slick is entered mostly off saudi Arabia and contains 3,3 million barrels of Oil. A barrel of Oil contains 42 Gallons. The biggest Oil Slick on record came from the Blowout of the Intoc i Oil Well in Mexico a Bay of Campeche in 1979. An estimated 4.2 million barrels of Oil gushed into the Bay part of the Gulf of Mexico the saudi government has been leading cleanup efforts which mostly involve skimming Oil still on the surface and placing booms to shield sensitive areas. But a a greater concerted Effort is needed. Or. The beaches will All turn into Tarmac a Plowright said. A this Slick will kill for years to  Michael Bailey also of Earth Trust said the areas that have suffered the greatest damage Are along the saudi coast North of Jubal. Eight dead dolphins and two dugongs a Large tropical sea cows a washed ashore recently on the Northern Edge of Bahrain several Days after tar balls began appearing on the Beach Bailey said. Thousands of Birds have been killed by the Slick which lies along a major Spring migratory path Between North Africa and Iraq Iran Europe and the Southern soviet Union Bailey added. Mocks May be avoiding the Oil Slick but Many Birds Are still Likely to die because they will Stop to feed in the gulfs coastal areas before Hying on Bailey said. The Oil is also working its Way into estuaries which Plowright described As the a most productive Marine  crabs snails turtles fish Lichen and sea grasses will suffer and the effects will be fell throughout the food Chain the Mem Iron ment lists w arned. A Earth Trust is trying to coordinate efforts among various environmental groups Bailey said. British French and chinese teams All were testing air Quality in Kuwait recently he said but were not coordinating their efforts