THE DEEP R&D
the cromarty firth
recce
Oil rig maintenance platform, Nigg Port renewable energy factory, disused oil drilling platforms, Cromarty Firth, Scottish Highlands. Vantage points: Nigg pier beach, Nigg hill road and mount.
On the very tip of Nigg Port, stands this gigantic platform. As one gets closer, one reads "WELL-SAFE PROTECTOR" painted on the side. For over forty years oil rigs from North Sea drilling sites which have either been decomissioned or else are in need of maintenance have been dragged to and bearthed in the Cromarty Firth. As energy corporations transition from fracking to "renewable energy", the same sites that once built and maintained the drilling platforms have been turned into wind turbine factories. This first image shows a platform used to seal the fractured bedrock left by a well (by pouring huge quantities of chemicals into it) alongside colossal turbine bases ready for seabed installation.
Just outside Jemimaville, beach prior to arriving at 'Dawning' site, Cromarty Firth, Scottish Highlands.
Just outside Jemimaville, beach prior to arriving at 'Dawning' site, Cromarty Firth, Scottish Highlands.
West side of the Cromarty Firth, Scottish Highlands. Bridge.
Vantage point. Just prior to reaching Nigg, the Cromarty Firth, Scottish Highlands.
Vantage point. West side of the Cromarty Firth, Scottish Highlands. Bridge.
Vantage point: red rig, from Cromarty Pier, Cromarty Firth, Scottish Highlands.
Vantage point: red and other rigs, from ferry crossing from Cromarty to Nigg, Cromarty Firth, Scottish Highlands.
DOWNLOAD first Recce Notes on the Cromarty Firth (compiled by Robin).