Neft Daşları (Oil Rocks)

Neft Dashlari, which means 'Oil Rocks', is a town built on steel platforms in the Caspian Sea, off the coast of Azerbaijan. It is about 86 km from Baku and 39 km from the nearest shore. It is listed in Guinness World Records as the world's first offshore oil platform.

Oil was discovered there on 7 November 1949, and by 1951 the settlement was ready for production. It grew from a single path over the water into a 'city on stilts' with streets, platforms and bridges. At its peak the trestle bridges between the artificial islands were over 200 km long, and about 2,000 people lived and worked there.

Building a town at sea

The settlement began on ships that were sunk on purpose to act as foundations. Later builders added drilling platforms, oil tanks, docks and, from 1952, trestle bridges linking the artificial islands. In the 1950s and 1960s they added nine-storey dormitories, hotels, cultural halls, a bakery and even lemonade workshops. Underwater pipelines carried the oil to a terminal on land. All this was built in the middle of the sea, far from the shore.

Today

Much of the original network has fallen into disrepair, but people still work there. The name first meant 'Black Rocks' in Russian and was later changed to 'Oil Rocks', replacing a hint of the colour of oil with the substance itself. The unusual place has appeared on film, including a James Bond adventure. It still stands as a reminder of how people once built a whole town above the waves.

On the globe

Look for the Caspian Sea east of Baku, Azerbaijan.