Page 314 - Introduction to Petroleum Engineering

SAKHALIN‐2 PROJECT, SAKHALIN ISLAND, RUSSIA 303

Amur Okha
River

Russia Nogliki
Sea of
Okhotsk
Alexandrovsk-
Sakhalinsky Sakhalin
Island

Tatar
Strait
Yuzhno-
Korsakov Sakhalinsk
Aniva Bay

FIguRE 15.8 Sakhalin Island. (Source: © energy.fanchi.com (2015).)

The Dutch sailor M.G. de Vries was the first European to explore Sakhalin Island
and the Kurils in 1643. His voyage put southern Sakhalin Island and the Kuril
Islands on European maps. Many of these early maps mistakenly connected Sakhalin
Island to the mainland by a narrow land bridge. This mistake was not corrected until
the mid‐1800s. A modern map of Sakhalin Island is shown in Figure 15.8.
Matsumae established the seaport of Ootomari on southern Sakhalin Island in
1679. Ootomari, which is now called Korsakov, was built as a trading post to control
commerce. It became the largest Japanese trading post on Sakhalin Island.
The first Russian expedition to sight Sakhalin Island was led by V.D. Poyarkov.
Poyarkov’s expedition reached the Amur River estuary in the autumn of 1644 and
spent the winter there. The next spring Poyarkov saw the western coast of Sakhalin
Island, but he never landed on Sakhalin Island.
Manchurian expansion prevented Russia from conquering Sakhalin Island in the
seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. The people of Sakhalin Island were
trading and paying tribute to the Manchurian Emperor during this period. The
Chinese were enamored with furs from Sakhalin Island, especially sable, otter, and
fox. In exchange, Sakhalin Island received goods that required a warmer climate or
industrial processing.
The first armed confrontation between Russia and Japan was a conflict over
Sakhalin Island. Russians first visited Sakhalin Island in 1805. The Russian vessel
Nadezhda entered Aniva Bay at the southern end of Sakhalin Island. When the
Russians landed, they were met by the Japanese. A Russian diplomat, N.P. Rezanov,
failed to convince the Japanese to sign a trade treaty with Russia. Incensed by his
failure, he decided to force the Japanese off Sakhalin Island. A year later, in 1806 the
Russian frigate Yunona attacked the Ootomari trading post, looted the warehouses,