Endless Fire: The Door To Hell

The Door To Hell, an ominous name. It conjures images of a a pit descending into the earth, aflame with dark, foreboding menace. A mythical place. Surely no such place could truly exist in the real world?

Turkmenistan. Ahal Province. Derwese Village.

One of the largest natural gas deposits in the world. 1971. Soviet scientists start drilling operations in Derswese in order to assess the quality of the gas reserve at the site. While the Soviets were overly pleased with what they had uncovered, and after starting a large scale operation to store the gas they had uncovered, disaster struck. The ground had become unstable and the area around the drilling rig collapsed into an overly large crater. No lives were lost but a large amount of methane gas was suddenly released from the deposit, posing a risk to those who lived in the surrounding area. Fearing the release of further gas, a decision was made. Burn off the gas. Extraction would have been overly expensive and possibly would have worsened the situation. The only logical thing was to burn it away. The Soviets assessed that it would only take a couple of days. They couldn't have been more wrong.

It would only take a couple of days, they said.

Over four decades later the crater is still burning. The smell of sulphur filling the air for miles around.

In 2010 the President of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, visited the site and ordered that the crater be closed and the fire put out in order to limit its affect on other gas deposits in the area. The economy of Turkmenistan is highly reliant on the trade of natural gas, with Berdimuhamedow hoping to increase the state's production and export drastically in the next twenty years. 

As of 2014 the fire is still burning. The Door To Hell has become an international tourist destination.