Bureau: Witteveen+Bos

Civil design for oil recovery complex

Dutch hydraulic engineers have designed an island in the Caspian Sea from which oil can be recovered without hindrance from floating ice.

The region surrounding the Caspian Sea is known far and wide for its extensive oil and gas reserves. Since the early nineties, oil companies started exploring the possibility of exploiting the promising onshore oil field Tengiz and the offshore oil field Kashagan.

The rich field of Kashagan, in the middle of the Caspian Sea, confronted the oil companies with some major challenges. Shallow waters, lack of construction materials and infrastructure, floating ice in winter and an extreme climate make conventional methods of exploration and recovery from platforms practically impossible. Hence, a revolutionary solution was chosen: oil recovery from artificial islands made of limestone. There is now an archipelago of islands and island complexes arising in the Caspian Sea, which are designed to be ice-proof.

Since 2004, Witteveen + Bos is responsible for all civil design work for the so-called D-Complex. This archipelago of 1 by 1.8 kilometres consists of a number of islands and interconnecting cofferdams, plus pipelines to onshore production facilities. Barriers will protect these islands against waves and ice. Witteveen + Bos is also developing activities for new islands in the Caspian Sea, from where oil recovery will be continued.

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This project is part of 'Dutch engineers: creating all over the world'

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