Gulf War compensation (UNCC) and Kuwait oil-damage remediation
A UN commission was set up after the 1991 Gulf War to handle claims against Iraq. Soil remediation in Kuwait was still producing new contracts in 2025, with remediation contracts of USD 949 million in 2021 and USD 460 million in 2023.
Contract value as reported by Saudi Gulf Projects, not payments made; a further USD 460 million in 2023.
Status As of September 2025 (latest dated source): Kuwait soil remediation was continuing with new contracts and 5 million tonnes of newly found contaminated soil reported.
- Foreign contractors — About 75% of the 171 foreign firms given contracts in the first three months after liberation were American (1991). Oil & Gas Journal
- Remediation contractors — KOC remediation contracts of USD 949 million (2021) and USD 460 million (2023); new contracts still being signed in 2025. Saudi Gulf Projects
- Kuwait Oil Company — Signed the soil remediation contracts of 2021 and 2023. Saudi Gulf Projects
- Kuwait’s environment — Remediation was still continuing in 2025, with 5 million tonnes of new contaminated soil reported. Saudi Gulf Projects
What happened
The United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) handled claims against Iraq arising from the 1991 Gulf War. The totals claimed and paid, and the figures for environmental claims, are reported in sources that could not be checked against the originals and are listed under what is unknown.
In Kuwait, remediation work was continuing in 2025. Saudi Gulf Projects reported in September 2025 that Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) remediation contracts were worth USD 949 million in 2021 and USD 460 million in 2023, that new contracts were still being signed and extensions requested in 2025, and that 5 million tonnes of new contaminated soil had been found.
The Oil & Gas Journal reported in 1991 that about 75% of the 171 foreign firms that received contracts in the first three months after Kuwait’s liberation were American.
- 1991UNCC claims period begins; of 171 foreign firms given contracts in the first three months after liberation, about 75% were American (Oil & Gas Journal)
- 2021KOC remediation contracts worth USD 949 million (Saudi Gulf Projects)
- 2023KOC remediation contracts worth USD 460 million
- 2025New remediation contracts and extension requests; 5 million tonnes of new contaminated soil reported (September)
How it looked
Shown
Recorded
- KOC remediation contracts of USD 949 million (2021) and USD 460 million (2023); 5 million tonnes of new contaminated soil reported in 2025 (Saudi Gulf Projects, September 2025).
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Figures
- Insufficient Insurance claim: Reported total claimed at the UNCC (UN Geneva, February 2022); release could not be checked.
- Insufficient Compensation paid: Reported total paid, 1991–2022 (UN Geneva); release could not be checked.
- Insufficient Insurance claim: Reported environmental claims at the UNCC (170 claims), CEOBS, 2025.
- Insufficient Compensation awarded: Reported awards on environmental claims, 1998–2005 (CEOBS, 6.2%).
Record
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: UN Geneva, in a February 2022 press release, is reported to give USD 352.5 billion claimed and USD 52.4 billion paid at the UNCC, with the last payment made in 2022 to Kuwait Petroleum. The release and UNCC records could not be checked.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: CEOBS (2025) is reported to give about USD 85 billion claimed in 170 environmental claims and USD 5.261 billion awarded (6.2%), with awards made between 1998 and 2005.
- None on record The figure of 5 million tonnes of new contaminated soil in Kuwait comes from a single trade-press report; no official figure appears in the sources reviewed.
Did the harm stop?
Not stopped in the sources reviewed: remediation in Kuwait was still producing new contracts and newly found contaminated soil in 2025.
Who paid?
The sources reviewed do not itemise who has paid for the Kuwait soil remediation contracts. Payment of the UNCC awards by Iraq is reported but not independently verified (see unknown).
Sources
Press and investigations
- Kuwait soil remediation program acceleratesSaudi Gulf Projects · 2025-09
- Watching the World: Rebuilding KuwaitOil & Gas Journal · 1991
Communities and civil society
International bodies
Connected cases
- Iran calls attack on Tehran fuel depots 'ecocide' Iran · 2026
- Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS) (NGO) — here: Research NGO reporting the environmental claims figures; there: Published the early risk summary
- Makeshift oil refineries in northeast Syria linked to poisoned streams Syria · 2020
- Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS) (NGO) — here: Research NGO reporting the environmental claims figures; there: Published the report on the refineries