This drilling platform is so large that it even has its own theater: it was built in 1949 and is still operating

About 100 kilometers from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, lies a practically unknown city. Neft Daşlarıwhich in Azeri means “Oil Rocks”, is an urban and industrial center that has no parallel in the world. It is a oil platform whose wells, buildings and communication routes extend through the Caspian Seathe largest lake on the planet.

Although Neft Daşları is more than 70 years old and the sea has consumed part of its infrastructure, its platforms are still active. The population, which once reached 5,000 in its heyday, has dwindled to just over 3,000, but oil extraction day and night under the control of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) is still a reality.

Neft Daşları, a platform with more than 70 years of history

The project started in November 1949 with the construction of the first Neft Daşları oil well. In 1951, the first ship with crude oil extracted for the first time in the history of the open sea left. The works in this peculiar place continued until it became a giant with around 2,000 wellshundreds of production sites and dozens of bridges.

Neft Daşları expanded far beyond the initial small island, connecting with several artificial islands. The latter were kept on the surface thanks to enormous poles stuck into the seabed. Several ships were also deliberately sunk at the site to help protect the artificial islands. For this reason it is also known as “the island of the seven ships”.

As we can see in some images published by SOCAR, as well as in the photographs shared on Google MapsNeft Daşları had several buildings. Among them you could find housing units, shops, a hospital, a theater and a soccer field. There was also a plaza and a heliport. The workers lived in an authentic floating city built for them.

Things at Neft Daslari have changed over time. Although, as we say, some wells continue to operate and thousands of people still live there, the activity is less than in its best times. The infrastructure in non-operational areas has fallen into oblivion, partially falling apart.Images | Wikimedia Commons (1) | SOCAR (1, 2, 3)

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