Neft Daşları
Encyclopedia
Neft Daşları is an industrial settlement in Baku
, Azerbaijan
. The settlement forms part of the municipality of Çilov-Neft Daşları
in Əzizbəyov raion. It lies 100 km (62.1 mi) away from the Azeri capital Baku
, and 55 km (34.2 mi) from the nearest shore in the Caspian Sea
. A full town on the sea, it was the first oil platform
in Azerbaijan
, and the first operating offshore oil platform in the world, incorporating numerous drilling platforms.
The settlement began with a single path out over the water and grew into a system of paths and platforms built on the back of ships sunk to serve as the Neft Daşları's foundation. The most distinctive feature of Neft Daşları is that it is actually a functional city with a population of about 5,000 and over 300 km (186.4 mi) of streets built on piles of dirt and landfill
.
and it became the world's first offshore oil platform
.
By 1951, the Neft Daşları was ready for production, equipped with all of the infrastructure needed at the time. Drilling platforms were erected, oil tanks installed, and docks with enclosures for ships were built. The first oil from the Neft Daşları was loaded into a tanker in same year.
In 1952, the systematic construction of trestle bridges connecting the artificial islands was begun. A number of Soviet factories constructed crane assemblies especially for use on the Neft Daşları, along with a crane barge that could carry up to 100 tons of oil. The assemblies were equipped with diesel hammers used to drive piles into the sea floor.
Large-scale construction started on the settlement in 1958, which included nine-story hostels, hotels, cultural palaces, bakery factories and lemonade workshops. The mass development of Neft Daşları continued during 1976-1978 with the building of a five-story dormitory and two oil-gas compressor stations, the installation of a drinking water facility, and the construction of two underwater pipelines to the Dubendi terminal, each with a diameter of 350 millimetres (13.8 in). In addition, a flyover for vehicular traffic was created. As a result, the area of the settlement grew to around 7 ha in the 1960s, with the length of the steel trestle bridges joining the man-made islands exceeding 200 kilometres (124.3 mi).
geological trend.
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
. The settlement forms part of the municipality of Çilov-Neft Daşları
Çilov-Neft Daslari
Çilov-Neft Daşları is a municipality in the Khazar raion of Baku, Azerbaijan. It has a population of 1,797. The municipality consists of an island with the three villages of Çilov and Neft Daşları, and Jiloy.-References:...
in Əzizbəyov raion. It lies 100 km (62.1 mi) away from the Azeri capital Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
, and 55 km (34.2 mi) from the nearest shore in the Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
. A full town on the sea, it was the first oil platform
Oil platform
An oil platform, also referred to as an offshore platform or, somewhat incorrectly, oil rig, is a lаrge structure with facilities to drill wells, to extract and process oil and natural gas, and to temporarily store product until it can be brought to shore for refining and marketing...
in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
, and the first operating offshore oil platform in the world, incorporating numerous drilling platforms.
The settlement began with a single path out over the water and grew into a system of paths and platforms built on the back of ships sunk to serve as the Neft Daşları's foundation. The most distinctive feature of Neft Daşları is that it is actually a functional city with a population of about 5,000 and over 300 km (186.4 mi) of streets built on piles of dirt and landfill
Landfill
A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...
.
Etymology
The settlement was originally named as Chernie Kamni ("Black Stones"), but was later renamed to Neft Daşları ("Oily Rocks"), replacing the allusion to the black colour of oil with a reference to the substance itself.Construction of the settlement
The first large-scale geological study of the area was conducted in 1945-1948. The settlement of Neft Daşları was built in 1949 after oil was discovered there at 1,100 meters beneath the Caspian seaCaspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
and it became the world's first offshore oil platform
Oil platform
An oil platform, also referred to as an offshore platform or, somewhat incorrectly, oil rig, is a lаrge structure with facilities to drill wells, to extract and process oil and natural gas, and to temporarily store product until it can be brought to shore for refining and marketing...
.
By 1951, the Neft Daşları was ready for production, equipped with all of the infrastructure needed at the time. Drilling platforms were erected, oil tanks installed, and docks with enclosures for ships were built. The first oil from the Neft Daşları was loaded into a tanker in same year.
In 1952, the systematic construction of trestle bridges connecting the artificial islands was begun. A number of Soviet factories constructed crane assemblies especially for use on the Neft Daşları, along with a crane barge that could carry up to 100 tons of oil. The assemblies were equipped with diesel hammers used to drive piles into the sea floor.
Large-scale construction started on the settlement in 1958, which included nine-story hostels, hotels, cultural palaces, bakery factories and lemonade workshops. The mass development of Neft Daşları continued during 1976-1978 with the building of a five-story dormitory and two oil-gas compressor stations, the installation of a drinking water facility, and the construction of two underwater pipelines to the Dubendi terminal, each with a diameter of 350 millimetres (13.8 in). In addition, a flyover for vehicular traffic was created. As a result, the area of the settlement grew to around 7 ha in the 1960s, with the length of the steel trestle bridges joining the man-made islands exceeding 200 kilometres (124.3 mi).
Post-independence
In November 2009, the settlement celebrated its 60th anniversary. Over the last 60 years, the oilfields of Neft Daşları have produced more than 170 million tons of oil and 15 billion m³ of associated natural gas. According to present-day estimates by geologists, the volume of recoverable reserves is as high as 30 million tons.Demography
The population varies from time to time in the settlement as of the 2008 the platforms have a combined population of about 5,000 men, who work in week-long offshore shifts.Oil extraction
The oil extraction is carried out from the shallow water portion of the AbsheronAbsheron
The Absheron peninsula, is a region in Azerbaijan. It is host to Baku, the biggest and the most populous city of the country, and also the Baku metropolitan area, with its satellite cities Sumgayit and Khyrdalan....
geological trend.
In popular culture
- In 2008, a Swiss documentary crew led by film director Marc Wolfensberger filmed "La Cité du Pétrole / Oil Rocks - City above the Sea" in the settlement, which was released in 2009.
- Neft Daşları featured in one of the scenes of James BondJames BondJames Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film The World Is Not EnoughThe World Is Not EnoughThe World Is Not Enough is the nineteenth spy film in the James Bond film series, and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was directed by Michael Apted, with the original story and screenplay written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Bruce Feirstein. It...
(1999).