“It could block the exit to the sea for the warships in cases of alert, because…”/The rare testimony of two specialists about the mystery of the underwater gas at the Bisht Palla Military Base, in the ’80s

Memorie.al / The coastal areas of Durrës are rich in gas and oil reserves. In the 1980s, exploration was carried out by a state-owned enterprise specialized in oil exploration, an enterprise that was established in the city of Durrës with operations at sea, using a ship built by the Naval Shipyard, while the enterprise’s administration was located in the Shkozet area. In Porto Romano, where the military base of Bisht Palla, or known as Cape Pali, was located, gas erupts at its entrance and is released freely into nature.

Intrigued by this phenomenon, in those years of the last century, a group of young men at the time implemented an engineering work at the entrance of the port to collect the gas directly from the seabed where it emerged, to process it and make it effective in the military navy unit. Later, this gas would be used, even for increasing the readiness of the vessels. The gas escape was confirmed at a distance of about 450 m from the port entrance at a depth of 8 meters.

Makeshift tools were used for the construction, including one of the trampolines used for divers’ jumps into the sea, etc. This trampoline was modified into a type of underwater bell, which, when submerged, “drowned” the gas’s exhalation and channeled it into the respective reservoir. Project sketches were drafted for this, and after the equipment was assembled with all the necessary metallic structures, the plant with a capacity of 1500 cubic meters of gas per day was installed.

“The assembly,” recall the constructor Thoma Berberi and the talented mechanic Agim Mema, “had difficulties which, thanks to accumulated experience, were overcome, and the plant was put into operation.” They recall that all the work was carried out outside official hours. A few years after being put into use, the plant, which is still located in the place where it was assembled in those years, was damaged by other base employees. Regarding the efforts to realize this gas-collecting plant at sea, Berberi and Mema bring exclusive photos and recall the difficulties but also the pleasure provided by this rare realization in our country to utilize the gas collected from the bottom of the sea.

The Purpose: Increasing Combat Readiness

Thoma Berberi says that in that difficult economic period for the country, the issue of saving material-technical resources and other savings was on the agenda. – “For this, starting from the gas that was coming out, we thought of channeling it into an economic benefit for the military base itself. For this, we decided to implement the plant for its collection and to use it to keep a boiler warm. When the alarm was given for the military unit, it would influence the sending of hot water to the engines to sail faster into the sea.

Since we were part of the scientific group, we proposed the gas collector. The boiler had the reservoir, and my friend Agim Mema had experience as he had worked as a specialist in the boiler unit. The water from the boiler reservoir would go under pressure to the engines of the warships, especially the torpedo boats. This shortened the time required for the engines to warm up, especially during alarms. The heated water going under pressure to them meant that the time required to normalize for navigation was reduced from 20 minutes to 5 minutes. Thus, it increased combat readiness by 15 minutes faster.”

From Preliminary Project to Construction

Thomai recounts that after consulting with colleagues, he prepared a project which they presented preliminarily to assess the economic benefit that the underwater gas-collecting bell would bring. “After approval was obtained, work began. We took the pontoons (floating metallic dock sections, used since before World War II) which had been left over as floating debris near the naval shipyard.

We also took a trampoline that was used on the beach by amateur swimmers for jumping into the sea during the summer season, which had been damaged and the waves had brought ashore. We loaded them onto large transport vehicles and took them to the Bisht Palla base. There we began cutting with oxygen and welding according to the project. We had work, as the trampoline that was being modified alone weighed about 17 tons.

Agim Mema, the assembly specialist, had prior experience as he worked in the Boiler Production Enterprise, and his experience served for the modifications and assembly of the plant’s valves, which required accuracy and precision.” He talks about the difficulties that were overcome due to the problems of material shortages, which were handled by the team, complete with mechanics, welders, etc. The bell had large dimensions: 12 x 20 m. The underwater surface of the relief where the object would be stabilized was leveled beforehand.

Underwater Bell Assembly and Perils

The bell faced several perils until assembly. First, the Command of the Military Base hesitated to allow its placement at the entrance, as they suspected that if it were to malfunction during placement, it could cause the blocking of the exit to the sea for the warships in cases of alert. But after verification, the assembly was allowed. The port’s small crane (biga) was taken for the transport of the bell. “The crane began to swing from the waves, and the plant started swinging like a clock pendulum. It risked being damaged. There was even a collision with the floating crane.

Then we lowered it into the sea. And we towed it with a ship. It also functioned in navigation according to the submarine principle. The valves were opened, the air was let out, and it was filled with water. When it was sent to the position where the gas was emerging, it was assembled and submerged. To achieve the object’s compaction with the earth, work was also done underwater with diving suits provided by the city’s Archaeological Museum. After assembly, the gas pressurization and ignition were tested. It was a great achievement for us in those conditions!”

The Plant Collected About 1400 $\text{m}^3$ of Gas Every Day

It functioned normally, solving many problems, until its displacement was requested. Military base specialists tried to pull it with cables, as they did not know how the valves, through which the water could be drained and brought to the surface to be moved by floating, functioned. From the pulling with cables in the water, it was damaged and went out of use.

The ruins of this object are still underwater today…! According to them, the plant remained in operation at the Bisht Palla Naval Military Base for about 4 years. “If a new one was to be made in the current period, under market economy conditions, such a plant would require about 500 thousand euros investment,” specify Berberi and Mema.

Durrës Coast Gas, in the Eye of Powerful Global Companies

In 2011, international agencies reported the news that a ship began a 3D seismic “hunt” for gas in the Durrës Block. Oisín Fanning, Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of “San Leon Energy,” stated: “Albania is generating great international interest at this time, and we are excited by the potential we see.”

Almost all news agencies worldwide, on March 18, 2011, reported the announcement made from Dublin (Ireland) that the Norwegian company Petroleum Geo-Physical AS (“PGS”) has begun securing offshore seismic data in the “Durrës Block” on behalf of the Irish operator “San Leon” and partner, “Beach Energy.”… [The text continues detailing the licenses, partnerships, and seismic survey carried out by the international companies in the Durrës Block for unexploited gas condensate fields, highlighting the significant reserves.]/Memorie.al