Page 60 - BBC Focus Earth From Above - 2017 UK
P. 60
CASPIAN SEA
CA SP I A N SEA
Drilling for black gold
Shallow waters, high hydrogen sulphide levels, and
o
temperatures plummeting from 40 C in summer to -35 C in
o
winter, made developing the Kashagan Field oil facility in
the Caspian Sea a real challenge. Discovered in 2000, and
named after a 19th-Century Kazakh poet, its construction was
plagued by delays, and cost around $50bn to build. Production
started last year, with crude oil piped out through the Caspian
Pipeline that links to the Black Sea.
PHOTO: PLANET LABS INC
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