On August 2, 1990, Iraq in the Middle East forcibly occupied Kuwait. After several months of negotiations at the United Nations, a U.S.-led counteroffensive began on January 17, 1991. On January 25, 1991, Iraq bombed Kuwait’s oil terminals in the Persian Gulf, causing over a million tons of crude oil to spill into the sea. During their withdrawal from Kuwait, the Iraqi army also destroyed more than 800 oil wells and completely demolished related infrastructure, including pipelines and storage tanks. Of the wells that were blown up, over 600 caught fire, burning up to 4.6 million barrels of oil per day.