Neft Dasları , Azerbaijan
Qaradagh, Azerbaijan
The world’s first offshore oil platform is where the entire town of 5,000 people resides. They live at sea.
Neft Daşları, also known as Neftyanyye Kamni or Nerftekamni in Russian, is an entire town on the sea located 100 miles off the coast of Baku, Azerbaijan. It was the world’s first operating offshore oil platform and the first of its kind in Azerbaijan.
In 1959, a single path was built over the water, gradually expanding into an entire city by adding paths and platforms built on ships submerged in the sea. Neft Daşları now has a population of around 5,000 and was constructed on top of a landfill; dirt and other industrial waste are thrown into the water.
Neft Daşları was completed for production in 1951 after two years of construction. The city’s first oil was tanked out that same year, with the installation of oil tanks and the erection of drilling platforms. In just a decade, the city expanded rapidly, constructing nine-story hotels, cultural palaces, bakeries, and other sites by 1958. Another boom occurred from 1976-1978, constructing a five-story dormitory and two oil-gas compressor stations. During this time, residents also gained access to a drinking water facility, two underwater pipelines, and a flyover for vehicular traffic.
In November 2009, during the 60th-anniversary celebration of Neft Daşları, it was revealed that the city had produced over 170 million tons of oil and natural gas since its establishment. However, the city’s and its inhabitants’ future is uncertain when the oil reserves deep beneath the sea become depleted. It is estimated that only 30 million tons of oil may be left in the reserves.
