THE CASPIAN LEGEND

Far from the hilly coastline of the Abseron Peninsula a rocky ridge rises from the water in the open sea. Here, during calm weather, oil stains could be seen, as well as bubbles of gas rising from the sea depths…

On 7 November 1949 in the Caspian Sea 100 km from Baku a maritime oil well started blowing for the first time in the world. Nobody thought that this would be a landmark in the history of maritime oil extraction and the start of the implementation of an almost improbable, but true legend - Neftyanyye Kamni, the town in the sea.

Neftyanyye Kamni, or as the oilmen themselves still call it - "Kamushki" - is not just kilometres of piers in the open sea and a sharp upsurge in the level of oil extraction. Anyone who has seen the documentary film extracts of those years just once will always remember this process of exposure to the secrets of oil extraction - with that first oil its extractors smeared their deliriously happy faces, aware that they were among a chosen few and at the same time becoming a part of history.

This is a living monument to the exploit of hundreds of maritime oilmen who devoted themselves heart and soul to carrying out the global objective of marketing this miracle of the sea. For some of them the "Black Rocks" were their final resting place - they perished trying to conquer the waves. But however pretentious this may sound, their venture lives on to this day. And today Neftyanyye Kamni is a symbol of Baku, a symbol of Azerbaijan's future, present and future oil, a symbol of the high intellect, steadfastness of spirit and selflessness of its people.

The human phenomenon of the "Kamushki" can be traced back not just to the documentary cinema. It can also be found in Qara Qarayev's "Song of Courage" - a hymn in honour of the maritime oilmen and the splendid image of the oil worker created by Rashid Beybutov (recall Rashid's famous shot of the big smile and his unforgettable smooth voice, comparing an oil fountain with chocolate), and the monumental paintings of Tahir Salahov - there were so many of them…And it was not oil that drew us all to the Rocks - it was the people who had formed a friendship with the Caspian in storm and wind, it was the special atmosphere of maritime friendship, without which work itself, where human capacities are stretched to the limit, is simply impossible.

Neftyanyye Kamni is a complete town, built on platforms in the sea. It is situated in the Caspian 45-50 kilometres from the shore. Its population is over 5,000 and its streets extend for over 200 km. The streets are suspended as it were over the sea's waves on stilts.

You can get to the town from Baku by launch, or you can fly there by helicopter. From the helicopter's window at first all you see is the green water, then lone oil derricks and then the town. From high up the town looks like a huge spider's web. You don't realise at first that these are bridges. They bend, intertwine, become broader and here and there turn into squares. The bridges extend for over 250 km. Trucks and private cars travel along these strange roads over the waves. Traffic lights twinkle at crossroads. In the town there are shops, schools and libraries. It has existed for over 60 years but never ceases to amaze. It is a strange oil platform, the biggest in the world.

Although "Kamushki" is described as a town, it does not have the usual hum associated with a metropolis. That is probably why it seems quiet despite the various sounds that are always present: the roar of the sea, plant operating, compressor and diesel stations, a bakery, laundry, a waterworks, and so on. And if at any time Neftyanyye Kamni becomes a tourist pilgrimage centre, it would be best to organize tours in the evening, because this is when "Kamushki" is transformed. The town is submerged in the light of yellow lamps as the fountains start operating. Surely nowhere else in the world could you come across in the open sea a huge construction on piles in which fountains - and not just water fountains - gush forth.

Neftyanyye Kamni is a town with a population of almost 5,000 people. Along with the oil workers there are builders, electrical engineers, geophysicists, public catering workers, doctors, pilots, laundrywomen, tailors, welders and painters and decorators. But they are all united by one thing - a love for the sea. Almost all of them say that they could get a job on the mainland, but here, in "Kamushki", they are surrounded by a special aura which people call their home. You could say they have become related to this man-made reinforced-concrete land…

At the present time most exploration work in the world, as well as hydrocarbon extraction, is done offshore.  Work is already underway on the shelf of all seas and oceans. The sea depths are being conquered to over a thousand metres. And this process was begun here, at Neftyanyye Kamni, by Azerbaijani oilmen.

Moreover, one may say today with every confidence that the experience acquired at Neftyanyye Kamni has given a boost to the acceleration of exploration work in other parts of the Caspian, and in a short time has paved the way to the surveying and commissioning of new oil and gas fields.

The celebrated "Black Rocks" continue to bless Azerbaijan as a living museum of oil, a memorial to human intellect and valour, a fairy-tale "island of miracles".

IT`S INTERESTING

The geological resources of the Neftyanyye Kamni field are estimated at 365 million tonnes, of which over 182m tonnes may be extracted. Today 167m tonnes of oil have been extracted at the field. In accordance with the existing project, development of the Neftyanyye Kamni field is due to be completed in 2035.

But this is by no means the end of the matter. In the opinion of experts, supplies of residual oil which could be extracted from the Neftyanyye Kamni field may be considerably increased in the future. At the present moment long-term programmes are being drawn up and implemented in this direction. On the basis of these programmes extra hydro-technical buildings are being erected, technological facilities are being repaired and restored, new wells are being drilled and research and testing work is being carried out to increase oil extraction.