The Smoke of Progress
Photo by Donald Weber
An aerial view of a power plant in Sakhalin's sprawling, dusty capital city, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Although Sakhalin II is creating unparalleled prosperity on the island—the unemployment rate is now 1.5 percent—environmentalists complain that the island's many gas and oil projects are responsible for erosion and pollution.
Read the story
A Fashion Stroll in Korsakov Plaza
Photo by Donald Weber
The energy boom is modernizing Sakhalin, bringing malls, bistros, and even strawberries to the former island gulag.
Read the story
Sakhalin Island Pastoral
Photo by Donald Weber
As early as October, snow can cover the rooftops of houses in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, on Sakhalin's southern end. Fierce storms that blow out of the icy Sea of Okhotsk frequently pound the island, wreaking havoc on the offshore oil and gas platforms.
Read the story
Pipe Wrangler
Photo by Donald Weber
Steve Burt, a Sakhalin Energy manager in charge of part of the ambitious trans-island pipeline project, has one of the hardest construction jobs on earth. The pipeline crosses 1,100 waterways and 21 seismic zones along its roughly 500-mile route.
Read the story
Khrushcheby, in the center of town, is a typical apartment dwelling all across the former USSR.
Read the story
The canteen of the Sokol work camp.
Read the story
Olga, a translator, in her dorm room at the Sokol work camp.
Read the story
Migrant workers from the Philippines hang out with locals in Korsakov, a small town located close to the LNG site.
Read the story
Ivan, from Vladivostock, came to Yuzhno-Sakhalin for a chance at a good job. Penniless, he now sleeps in a battered old Volga car.
Read the story
Drinking champagne and smoking cigarettes in the lounge of the Mega Palace, where deals are struck and some women look for rich husbands.
Read the story
Shopping for fur hats in the Korean, or Chinese (depending on whom you ask) market.
Read the story
Lenin Square, the centre of town.
Read the story
The Exxon headquarters in downtown Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the newest of all the energy offices.
Read the story
The LNG plant of the Sakhalin II energy site.
Read the story
Aniva Bay in Korsakov, just a few kilometers from the LNG site.
Read the story
A pumping crane for gas sits offshore of the LNG plant, in Aniva Bay in Korsakov.
Read the story
NEWSLETTER
RSS
MOBILE
HELP
Where's Vesco?
RSS
Mobile