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hurrengoa
sea estruktures -gaviota is not a seagull-    Many of the structures which mankind has built on the sea are petrol
and gas platforms. At the start of the last century, when they started to
look towards the sea for getting petrol in the US, these platforms were
controversial. Their construction caused ecological problems, there was
a high risk of pollution, exploiting the planet would cause earthquakes...
In spite of the risks and all types of pollution, the Gaviota platform has
been a sea ghost you see appearing and disappearing amongst the mists
on this Urdaibai horizon. Apart from the fishermen who get close to it
on their skiffs, few people know Gaviota. We want to tell you about this
“satellite of the land” in the balde.
It’s 8 kilometres from the coast. This metal island is 105 metres above
the sea. It weighs 10,000 tons and nowadays the 36 people who work
there in turns are taken there by helicopter.
The first excavations for petrol in the Bay of Biscay took place in 1972.
In 1980 the French company Foramer found gas there and built a platform
there, calling it Campo Gaviota. They copied the design from North Sea
platforms. It started bringing gas out in 1986. It costs 60,000 Pesetas
back then (700 million Euros). Their intention was to extract 12,000 million
cubic metres of gas, but the gas ran out after just 8 years, after getting
only 10,000 million cubic metres. Why didn’t they close it down then?
Well, because they turned it into an underwater gas storage facility.
Since then, there’s a giant gas storage facility 106 metres above the
seabed and between 2,100 and 2,700 metres under the seabed. It takes
gas in during the summer and, in winter, Gaviota becomes a supplier.
It you ever go looking for baby squid out there, think carefully before
lighting a cigarette...