Several oil wells still on fire near Mosul, affecting health and environment

QAYYARA, Iraq--Almost three months after the retreating Islamic State set oil wells ablaze in Qayyara, 60 km south of Mosul, more than a dozen oil wells continue to burn and release black smoke into the sky, Rudaw’s reporter Sidar Lashkri reported on Tuesday.

 

The Iraqi forces liberated the oil-rich town in late August.

 

The Iraqi government sent in firefighters to control the fire and they announced in September that they had put out six out of nine burning oil wells, according to Reuters.

 

However, an official from the state-owned North Oil Company told Rudaw that only one oil well is under control.

 

 

“We cannot set a timeframe by which we can put out the burning oil wells. As of now we have controlled only one burning oil well. And even if we control the oil wells, we can no longer use them.” Ayar Shadir, an engineer in the oil company said.

 

It is believed as many as 20 wells are burning, Lashkri reported.

 

“The firefighting consisted of removing explosives from these wells, putting out the fires and preventing crude oil from leaking into the river to prevent pollution,” the ministry spokesman, Asim Jihad, told Reuters.

 

Locals also complained of health issues related to the smoke, in particular respiratory problems.

 

Following the recapture of Shargat and Qayyarah – two oil-rich towns in northern Iraq by the Iraqi army—ISIS no longer holds any oil well in Iraq, forcing the group to rely on other sources for income and fuel.

 

Qayyara was home to 62 oil wells and an estimated five billion barrels of untapped oil.