Hibernia Gravity Base Structure

The Hibernia platform is a massive offshore oil production facility located roughly 315 kilometers from St. John's in the North Atlantic. It combines a concrete gravity base on the ocean floor with machinery and storage facilities built on top to extract and process crude oil.

Exploration for the Hibernia field started decades earlier, but the oil discovery occurred in the late 1970s. The decision to build this specific platform came much later, representing a major shift in how the field would be developed and operated.

The platform draws workers from across Canada and beyond, creating a temporary community on the ocean where people from different regions work side by side. This rotating workforce shapes daily life on the structure and represents a shared effort in resource extraction.

The platform is not open to visitors since it operates far offshore as an active production facility. You can learn about its operations and engineering from visitor information centers on shore rather than by visiting the structure itself.

The structure was partly constructed on land and then towed into position rather than built entirely offshore. This unusual construction method required specialized facilities and demonstrates an engineering approach that was novel for the time.