ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Iraqi oil ministry said it has put out the fire burning at the No.52 oil well in Qayyara, reducing the number of the burning oil wells to seven. ISIS set many of the town’s oil wells on fire when they retreated in August 2016, filling the air with dark smoke for nearly half a year, causing health and environmental problems. “The workers are trying to extinguish the rest of the burning wells, which are seven, after the teams belonging to the oil ministry were able to extinguish the fires in 18 wells,” Asim Jihad, spokesperson for the Iraqi oil ministry said. Technical and engineering staff of the North Oil Company and many other oil companies have been assisting to extinguish the fires, a statement from the ministry added. Iraqi forces liberated the oil-rich town of Qayyara in late August. Losing Qayyara and Shargat, another oil town, was a severe blow for ISIS as they lost control of the last oil wells they had held in Iraq, forcing the group to rely on other sources for income and fuel. Qayyara has 62 oil wells and an estimated five billion barrels of untapped oil.
