Kuwait Reconstruction

When Bechtel arrived in war-ravaged Kuwait in March 1991, experts predicted that quelling the oil field inferno and restoring production of hydrocarbons would take up to five years. It took less than half that time.

Bechtel orchestrated the massive effort by mobilizing an international force of more than 16,000 workers to put out the 650 wellhead fires, stop the gushing flow of oil, and help resurrect the Kuwait oil fields. In addition, after Iraq escalated its war on the environment by releasing more than 11 million barrels of oil into the Gulf, Bechtel swiftly coordinated the effort to clean up the water and shoreline.

The result was the most successful oil recovery in history. Thirteen percent of the original 11 million barrels spilled was recovered, compared to 8 or 9 percent recovered in most operations of this type. Although experts estimated it would take decades for a complete environmental recovery, by mid-1991 the effects of the cleanup effort were clearly visible as fish and dolphin returned to swim in the waters of the Gulf.