The burning intensity of the "Gate of Hell" in the Karakum desert has been drastically reduced!

The intensity of the fire in the Darvoza gas crater, located in the Karakum desert of Turkmenistan and known throughout the world, has been significantly reduced. This was reported by Irina Luryeva, head of the laboratory of the Natural Gas Research Institute of the Turkmengaz national concern.

According to the expert, compared to August 2023, the fire in the Darvoza gas crater has now been reduced by more than three times. This result indicates the high effectiveness of the measures taken recently. Due to the increased gas production and flow control, the gas flow reaching the crater is also being reduced.

This gas crater in the Karakum desert, or the "Gate of Hell" as it is popularly called, is famous for the fact that it has not stopped burning for more than half a century. It is located near the village of Darvaza, 260 km from Ashgabat, and was formed in 1971 by Soviet geologists during gas drilling. While searching for natural gas, geologists encountered a large void in the earth's crust, and the upper layers of the earth and drilling equipment fell into the ground. Thus, a large crater with a diameter of 60 meters and a depth of about 20 meters was formed.

At the same time, it was decided to deliberately burn the natural gas escaping from the crater so that it would not cause poisoning of the population and wildlife. According to geologists, the gas should have completely burned out within 1-2 days, but due to the huge gas reserves in this area, which are located in many layers, the burning lasted for several decades and continues to this day.

This interesting natural phenomenon has quickly become one of the main attractions of the country. The crater is also known as the "Gate to Hell" because of its fiery appearance and the reddish-yellow flames visible from afar at night. Thousands of tourists come to Turkmenistan every year to see this unique natural phenomenon.

However, the long-term burning of the "Gate to Hell" is causing serious damage to the environmental situation, especially the development of other gas fields in the vicinity. In 2010, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow gave an order to extinguish this gas crater. The head of state repeated his order in 2022, noting that the wasteful burning of natural gas for so many years is causing serious damage to the country's economy.

President Berdimuhamedow also noted that the gas leaking from this area is negatively affecting the health of the local population and the cleanliness of the environment. Therefore, in recent years, the Turkmen government has conducted a large-scale research and development to extinguish this crater.

To date, as a result of scientific and practical measures taken by the Turkmengaz concern, the burning intensity of the gas crater has significantly decreased, which is considered a great success by Turkmen specialists. This result, along with improving the environmental situation, opens up opportunities for further development of the gas industry potential in this region.

At the same time, Turkmen scientists and engineers continue their work in this direction and are developing additional effective methods for the complete extinguishing of the Darvoza gas crater in the future. This will allow for more efficient use of natural gas resources in the country and will contribute to improving the ecological situation in the region.

This natural phenomenon in the Karakum desert is of great ecological and economic importance not only for Turkmenistan, but also for the entire region. Therefore, measures to control it will continue in the future.