After 54 Years, Fires In The ‘Gates To Hell’ May Finally Burn Out
The burning gas crater in Turkmenistan dubbed “Gateway to Hell.’
During an international conference on hydrocarbon resources in Turkmenistan’s capital Ashgabat earlier this month, Irina Luryeva, head of the scientific research institute in the state-owned energy company Turkmengaz, announced that the fires feed by natural methane seepage in the “Gateway to Hell” are slowly burning out.
“Whereas before a huge glow from the blaze was visible from several kilometers away, hence the name ‘Gateway to Hell’, today only a faint source of combustion remains,” says Luryeva in a quote published by france24.com.
In January 2022, former president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow appeared on state television announcing plans to “close” the “Gates of Hell,” a giant natural gas crater in the middle of the Karakum Desert, about 260 kilometers (160 miles) north of Ashgabat, citing pollution, health concerns and a loss of “valuable natural resources.”
The crater was (supposedly, as there are no official documents available) created in 1971 during a Soviet drilling accident that hit a gas cavern, causing the rig to fall in and the ground to collapse around it. The Soviets decided to burn off the gas by setting it on fire to prevent the dangerous fumes from spreading. Unfortunately, tapping into a vast natural reservoir of flammable methane gas, the pit has been burning since then, even growing in size over time.
The now 70 meters (229 feet) wide and 20 meters (65 feet) deep crater was a popular tourist attraction, especially at night time. Officially named the “Shining of Karakum,” the crater is also known as the Darvaza Crater, after the nearby village of Darvaza, and online as the “Door to Hell”, “Gateway to Hell” or “Gates of Hell” thanks to the boiling mud and roaring, red burning flames covering the crater floor.
According to Luryeva, numerous wells have been drilled around the crater to release the methane in a controlled way and cut off the the flame’s fuel supply.
Turkmenistan possesses the world’s fourth largest reserves of natural gas in its underground, exporting gas to countries such as Pakistan, China, India, Iran and Russia.