Sakhalin - MolikpaqSakhalin will become one of the most important gas supply sources for the Asia-Pacific region. A converted driller, the Molikpaq has had a steel base added which was filled with ballast once in position, permanently anchoring it in place.
The sea around the platform is frozen six months every year - during the summer months production is offloaded to a shuttle tanker via a nearby mooring buoy. To protect the buoy from ice during the winter months, it is ballasted and sinks into a dredged trench in the sea floor.
Photo Courtesy of Shell Photographic Services, Shell International Ltd
Picture added on 13 November 2006
