Iran’s Oil Platform Sinks Into Persian Gulf [Video]

An Iranian oil platform sank into the Persian Gulf as it was being installed, according to media reports on Wednesday.

The $40 million engineering structure belonged to Iran’s South Pars gas field. It was meant for use as an offshore platform.

The Globe and Mail reports that there is no official cause for the sinking. Maritime Industrial Co. managing director Mehdi Etesami stated, “An investigation is under way.”

Iran called for foreign help to retrieve the gas platform from the seabed. The call for help was a rare request by the country, which has been isolated by Western sanctions.

The oil platform was built by SADRA, an affiliate of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. It took 30 months to build, but just one minute to sink.

There were no reports of casualties from the platform sinking, notes Business Insider. The incident happened on Monday night. The 1,850-ton oil platform section sank to a depth of 80 meters.

Once it is completed, Phase 13 is expected to produce about 56 million cubic meters of gas per day. Iran has the world’s second-largest natural gas reserves.

It also claims to be able to develop the South Pars on its own by giving many of the projects affiliated to its Guards.

Major Western companies that used to operate in South Pars, like Royal Dutch Shell PLC and France’s Total SA, withdrew from Iran after the sanctions were imposed. The sanctions came from Western countries over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Check out the video below to see Iran’s oil platform sink into the Persian Gulf.