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Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Oil spill · Iran · 1983–1985

Nowruz oil-field spill, 1983–1985

Nature's voice · report
In the first three months of 1983, south-westerly winds drove the slicks from my Nowruz field toward the Saudi coast, CEDRE recorded; tarballs were reported in June 1983.
Did nature suffer? Yes. Harm is on record. Disputed
Recorded
  • My oil emulsified to 80 per cent water and 20 per cent oil, and dispersants were ineffective; only a small fraction of the spill was recovered. CEDRE
  • Approximately 733,000 barrels of oil entered my waters.
    NOAA IncidentNews.
People
  • 11 people died.
    Died capping the first well (NOAA).
  • 9 people died.
    Died in the 1985 operation (NOAA).
What the record lacks: 1 none on record · 1 not disclosed · 1 not measured · 6 disputed See the gaps
Accounts of the harm differ
Volume of oil spilled
  • Government and regulators NOAA (US government): Approximately 733,000 barrels spilled into the sea. NOAA Office of Response and Restoration
  • Researchers CEDRE (French spill-response centre): 260,000 tonnes spilled in 1983–1985. CEDRE

An offshore oil release in Iran's Nowruz field in 1983 was prolonged by wartime attacks, and capping was delayed because the field lay in the Iran–Iraq war zone. NOAA and CEDRE give different start dates and volumes; no cost or compensation figure is on record.

733,000 barrels (NOAA) / 260,000 tonnes (CEDRE)Oil released: NOAA and CEDRE differ
NOAA gives approximately 733,000 barrels; CEDRE gives 260,000 tonnes for 1983–1985. The two also differ on the start date.

Status As of the NOAA and CEDRE accounts: both wells were closed by May 1985; no compensation or cost figure is on record.

What?
An offshore oil release in Iran's Nowruz field, prolonged by wartime attacks and by the delay in capping the wells. NOAA Office of Response and Restoration
Where?
Nowruz oil field, northern Gulf, Iranian waters (approximately 29°32′ N, 49°35′ E per NOAA). NOAA Office of Response and Restoration
When?
From a collision in January or February 1983 (sources differ) until the second well was plugged in May 1985. NOAA Office of Response and Restoration
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
Harmed
  • Northern Gulf waters — Slicks driven toward the Saudi coast; tarballs reported in June 1983 (CEDRE) CEDRE
Why?
A collision with a platform released the oil; wartime attacks on platforms in 1983 prolonged the release, and the field's location in the war zone delayed capping. NOAA Office of Response and Restoration
How?
A tanker or supply ship collided with a platform, Iraqi aircraft or helicopters attacked platforms, and the wells were capped on 18 September 1983 and in May 1985. NOAA Office of Response and Restoration
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

According to NOAA, on 10 February 1983 a tanker collided with a platform in the Nowruz oil field, in Iranian waters of the northern Gulf. Iraqi aircraft struck the platform in March 1983 and the slick ignited; a nearby platform was hit by Iraqi helicopter rockets in March 1983. The first well was capped on 18 September 1983 and the second was plugged in May 1985. NOAA gives approximately 733,000 barrels of oil spilled into the sea and states that the well "was not capped because the field was in the middle of the Iran/Iraq war zone". Eleven people died capping the first well and nine in the 1985 operation.

CEDRE, the French spill-response centre, gives a different account: an initial collision on 24 January 1983, "a supply ship collided with a rig", and a second spill in April 1983 after "A nearby rig was attacked by Iraqi bombers". It gives a total of 260,000 tonnes spilled in 1983–1985. The oil formed an emulsion of 80 per cent water and 20 per cent oil, dispersants were ineffective, and only "a small fraction of the spill was recovered". South-westerly winds drove slicks toward the Saudi coast in the first three months, and tarballs were reported in June 1983.

In 2004 the UNCC F4 Panel cited "the 1983 Nowruz oil spill and other events during the Iran-Iraq war", together with oil platforms, terminals, processing facilities and natural seeps, as other possible major causes of contamination on the central Bushehr coast when it made no award on Iran's USD 373,590,708 marine remediation claim for the 1990–91 Gulf War. NOAA and CEDRE give no cost, compensation or insurance figure.

  1. 1983Collision at the platform (NOAA: 10 Feb; CEDRE: 24 Jan); Iraqi attacks on platforms (NOAA: March; CEDRE: April); first well capped (18 Sep, NOAA)
  2. 1985Second well plugged (May, NOAA)
  3. 2004UNCC F4 Panel names the Nowruz spill among other possible causes of coastal contamination (9 Dec report)

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

“was not capped because the field was in the middle of the Iran/Iraq war zone”

“A nearby rig was attacked by Iraqi bombers”

CEDRE accident report · undated · CEDRE

“a small fraction of the spill was recovered”

CEDRE accident report · undated · CEDRE

“the 1983 Nowruz oil spill and other events during the Iran-Iraq war”

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

Start date of the spill
Government and regulators
NOAA (US government)

A tanker collided with a platform on 10 February 1983.

NOAA Office of Response and Restoration
Researchers
CEDRE (French spill-response centre)

A supply ship collided with a rig on 24 January 1983.

CEDRE
Volume of oil spilled
Government and regulators
NOAA (US government)

Approximately 733,000 barrels spilled into the sea.

NOAA Office of Response and Restoration
Researchers
CEDRE (French spill-response centre)

260,000 tonnes spilled in 1983–1985.

CEDRE
Timing of the attack on the nearby platform
Government and regulators
NOAA (US government)

A nearby platform was hit by Iraqi helicopter rockets in March 1983.

NOAA Office of Response and Restoration
Researchers
CEDRE (French spill-response centre)

A second spill followed in April 1983 after a nearby rig was attacked by Iraqi bombers.

CEDRE

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

    Recorded

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What nature saw

    Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

    Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

    Oil spilled (NOAA)
    Approximately 733,000 barrels
    Prolonged by the war; first well capped 18 Sep 1983, second plugged May 1985
    Oil spilled (CEDRE)
    260,000 tonnes
    1983–1985; only a small fraction recovered
    People who died capping the wells
    11 and 9
    In 1983 and 1985 operations (NOAA)

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
    No court caseNo independent ecological evaluationDeaths reported

    Nature

    Court

    Accounts

    • Disputed Start date of the spill
    • Disputed Timing of the attack on the nearby platform

    Record

    • Disputed Disputed: NOAA gives 10 February 1983 as the date of the collision and CEDRE gives 24 January 1983.
    • Disputed Figures differ: NOAA gives approximately 733,000 barrels spilled; CEDRE gives 260,000 tonnes for 1983–1985.
    • Disputed Disputed: NOAA places the attack on the nearby platform in March 1983 (helicopter rockets); CEDRE places it in April 1983 (bombers).
    • Not disclosed Not disclosed: any cost, compensation or insurance figure in the NOAA and CEDRE accounts.
    • Not measured Not measured: an ecological survey of Iran's coast specific to the Nowruz spill is not on record; CEDRE describes no specific coastal damage.

    Did the harm stop?

    The first well was capped on 18 September 1983 and the second plugged in May 1985, according to NOAA.

    Who paid?

    None on record.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project✓ Government and regulators— Courts— Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers✓ International bodies

    Government and regulators

    1. Nowruz Oil Field, Persian Gulf, Iran (IncidentNews)
      NOAA Office of Response and Restoration ·

    International bodies

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Institutions

    NOAA
    The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which leads damage assessment for coastal and marine spills.

    Law and courts

    Trustees (natural resource)
    Government agencies that act on behalf of the public to recover and spend damages for harm to natural resources.
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