HC Deb 13 May 1991 vol 191 cc49-50W
Mr. Dalyell

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what help he has given to(a) Kuwaiti British Fire Group, (b) Wimpey, (c) Taylor Woodrow, and (d) Amec to tackle well fires in Kuwait.

Mr. Wakeham

I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to him and my hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Mr. Latham) on 7 May 1991,Official Report, column 374. Commercial negotiations are continuing between the Kuwaiti British Fire Group, the joint venture between Amec, Taylor Woodrow and Wimpey, and the Kuwaiti authorities. I stand ready to give the group further assistance as necessary.

Mr. Dalyell

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how many uncapped oil well fires there are in proximity to Ahmadi.

Mr. Wakeham

The only information available applies to the current position in Kuwait as a whole, which is that of the order of 500 uncapped wells remain, many of which are still on fire. Reports from Kuwait suggest that around 96 wells have been capped to date.

Mr. Dalyell

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what well-kill teams are available to the Government of Kuwait.

Mr. Wakeham

I understand that there are four firefighting teams working in Kuwait on the well-kill programme for the Kuwait oil company. These teams are all from north America.

The Kuwait authorities are having discussions with a number of other groups of companies which include some from the United Kingdom, offering their services for these operations. On my recent visit to Kuwait I was accompanied by a number of British company representatives among whom were members of the Kuwaiti British Fire Group.

Mr. Dalyell

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what well records are available to the oil teams in relation to Kuwait.

Mr. Wakeham

Most well records were destroyed by the Iraqi forces during their occupation of Kuwait. I understand that those which remain intact have been made available to the fire-fighting teams.