A TURKEY SHOOT IN KUWAIT – 1991

As I mentioned earlier the group I was assigned to was in charge of rebuilding and restarting the “gathering centres” and “tank farms”. And this post is of a memory of my time spent working on these gathering centres. These were basically complexes, located throughout the oilfields, where products from the wells were delivered initially. Each wellhead had 6 feed lines connected to it. The pipe that made up the feed lines, stretched across the desert towards the gathering centres. These consisted of, pumping facilities, separators and interim storage tanks. Used, before the product was then sent further on to the refinery.Which was located on the east coast of Kuwait in the Persian Gulf.

As the Iraqis prepared to exit Kuwait. In some haste I might add, they sabotaged, booby trapped and attempted to destroy everything connected to Kuwait’s oil wealth. Starting with the refinery, then the pipelines, and ultimately into the gathering centres. Then they proceeded up the feed pipelines to the wellheads, and the wellheads themselves, everything was rendered inoperable. Our task was to get the gathering centres operational and ready to receive oil or gas. As soon as, the fires were put out, wellheads replaced and the feed lines to the gathering centres operational. This was no small task. To try and paint a picture; each wellhead had 6 feed lines connected to it, that run across the desert to different gathering centres.

Each of these feed lines averaged 5-6 miles long (or more). Multiply that by 800 wellheads and pretty soon you can see how much pipe was involved. Just to move products from wellheads to areas of temporary storage. Where consolidation, first separation (of oil, water, and/or gas), took place. Finally, onward pumping, of product, down to the refinery at the coast. The tank farms themselves each had between 6 and 12 vertical storage tanks. Each with capacities from 25,000 barrels to 50,000 barrels of crude, water or gas. I am not quite sure of the number of gathering centres. But in the Burgan field where our offices were located. I believe, we were dealing with 16 damaged gathering centres, just in this one area.

Some of the damages we encountered were, issues such as, fires inside of storage tanks, pumps and equipment blown up and mangled, unexploded ordnance lying around, piles of twisted steel and pipe, and in one place an unexploded Allied bomb dropped by a bomber, that was buried 6 feet under the ground. It had hit with such a force as to bury itself in the ground, with nothing but a gaping hole as evidence. After discovery by the first team into the area, it had to be “gently” dug up and removed. This baby was about 6 feet long and appeared to weigh, maybe upwards, of a ton or two. Yet another case of unexploded ordnance.

In some cases estimates range up to, as much as, 30% (or more) of ordnance dropped or fired by the Allied and Iraqi armies, never went off. Geezus, seems like a big quality control issue to me! The cost of unexploded munitions must have been a staggering number, and then you have to factor in the costs of removal and disposal as well. My earliest memory of visiting the area that we were responsible for, was standing far back from the actual area, in a place surrounded by safety tape (after sweeping by the ordnance personnel), and thinking “what can we possibly do with this”? To me it seemed hopeless.

At first survey of our area of responsibility, the task seemed mind boggling. Around the gathering centres we saw scenes of destruction, not all of it, I might add, perpetrated by the Iraqis. One very curious realization was that on the south side of many of the huge storage tanks in the tank farms there were visible patterns of bullet holes. Note the allied planes came from the south out of Saudi. I mean big ass kicking holes, some of which appeared to be 2-3 inch in diameter. They stood out very clearly on the white background of the tanks. Our initial thoughts were that this was another example of Iraqi sabotage.

However on closer inspection, and because all of the damage was on the south side of the tanks only, it now appeared more as if someone had used these tanks for target practise, or maybe to “sight in” their new weapon systems in their newly commissioned aircraft. I am sure that the official position is that they were chasing the Iraqis out of their hiding places in amongst the tanks. Could be, right? Or maybe the impression that I had of these tanks being used for “target practise” by young keen allied pilots in their first conflict, and ready for action, is more correct.

In the face of retreating Iraqi forces, maybe something was needed to replace real targets. Hmmmmmm? I might add, that left alone, the Iraqis could not have caused more damage to the tanks than these bullet holes. The scene reminded me of an old fashioned “turkey shoot”.