The
Rumaila oil field is a super-giant
oil field located in southern
Iraq, approximately from the
Kuwaiti border. The dispute between Iraq and Kuwait over alleged
slant-drilling in the field was one of reasons for
Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. This field was discovered by the Basrah Petroleum Company (BPC), an associate company of the
Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC), in 1953. Under
Abd al-Karim Qasim, the oilfield was confiscated by the Iraqi government by Public Law No. 80 of 11 December 1961. Since then, this massive oil field has remained under Iraqi control. The assets and rights of IPC were nationalised by
Saddam Hussein in 1972, and those of BPC in 1975. Rumaila is considered the third largest field in the world.