Al Basrah Oil Terminal

Iraq / al-Basrah / al-Faw /
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Iraqi Oil Terminal. Formerly known as Mina al-Bakr. Dilapidated.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basra_Oil_Terminal
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   29°40'53"N   48°48'33"E

Comments

  • Best fishing place!
  • Built in 1975/76 by Brown & Root. Terminal is 1 kilometer long, has 2 loading platforms capable of loading 4 tankers simultaneously and one multi-story living quarters. Supplied by 2 48" pipelines and 1 18" bunker pipeline to refuel tankers all coming out of Fao. A Star of David was placed on the underside of loading platform "A". During construction, a question arose pertaining to the location of the facility. Original positioning placed the terminal some 300 meters off intended location and there were fears the terminal might lay partly in Iranian waters. Astronomical measurements were made to verify this and Brown & Root tried to falsify the results given over to INOQ (Iraqi National Oil Company). The first Iraqi superintendent said that once the facilty was under operation, it would take 36 days of pumping oil to pay for the terminal. At least 3 people died during construction - 1 British warehouseman who died enroute to Kuwait after a rope snapped from a supply boat and severed his leg, 1 diver ( probably American) who embolized while resurfacing, 1 construction worker (nationality unknown) on the lay barge L.E. Minor when a crane dropped a load on him. Several severe injuries including 1 Lebanonese welder thrown into the water after a cable snapped holding 2 pilings together.
This article was last modified 13 years ago