It is estimated that the current oil spill caused by British Petroleum in the US is approximately 27 times less severe than the Nowruz Oil Field spill in the Persian Gulf back in 1983. In that disaster, first an oil tanker collided with the platform causing massive damage to the platform. Then when Iranian technicians were attempting to fix it, Iraqi armed forces, armed with British and US made missiles repeatedly attacked the platform causing massive damage which eventuated in the spilling of more than 270,000 tonnes (1.9 million barrels) of crude oil into the Persian Gulf, causing massive damage both to Iran’s economy and environment, and also causing the deaths of more than a twenty of Iran’s technicians and specialist divers. The cleaning operations took many years to complete and some marine life populations were decimated forever. At the peak of the war between Iran and Iraq, the destruction of that oil field brought tremendous hardship to the Iranian population back home and its efforts to defend Iran’s territorial integrity from the Iraqi armed forces on multiple fronts along the long arduous border between the two countries.   The current Deepwater Horizon platform disaster off Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico is estimated to have caused the spillage of approximately 10,000 tonnes of crude oil (as of May 5th, 2010).

It’s also important to note that the same countries that attempted to annihilate Iran are the very same nations shedding crocodile tears for Iranian “democracy” today.

Lest we forget.

Nowruz Oil Field

Persian Gulf, Iran        1983-Feb-10

In 1983, the Nowruz Oil Field in the Persian Gulf, Iran, was involved in a number of oil pollution incidents. On February 10, 1983, a tanker collided with a platform. The platform developed a 45-degree tilt and had to be shut down. Wave action and corrosion apparently caused the riser to collapse into the wellhead causing a spill of approximately 1,500 barrels per day. The well was not capped because the field was in the middle of the Iran/Iraq war zone. This platform was attacked by Iraqi planes in March and the resulting slick caught fire. This well was capped by the Iranians on September 18, 1983. Eleven people were killed during the operation. In March 1983, a nearby platform was attacked with rockets by Iraqi helicopters. The platform burned and spilled oil at an initial rate of approximately 5,000 barrels per day. The rate slowed to about 1,500 barrels per day in the two years before the well was capped. In May 1985, the fire was extinguished and the well was plugged with the assistance of divers. Nine men died during these operations. Approximately 733,000 barrels of oil spilled into the sea as a result of this incident. It is estimated that the rate of oil leaking into the Persian Gulf in mid-May of 1983 was between 4,000 and 10,000 barrels per day due to more war-related activity or the collapse of burning platforms. As a result of this incident, a cooperative program for large-scale trajectory modeling was developed between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Kuwait’s Environment Protection Council under the Ministry of Public Health. Keyword: Booms, skimmers, fire, collision..Read more