Melkøya

Melkøya (Northern Sami: Muolkkut) is an island in Hammerfest Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The island sits just west of the town of Hammerfest. The 0.69-square-kilometre (170-acre) island is connected to the town of Hammerfest (on the island of Kvaløya) by the Melkøysund Tunnel which was completed in 2003.

The industrial island is the endpoint of the undersea pipeline that transports natural gas from the Snøhvit natural gas fields in the Barents Sea. The gas goes through the 168-kilometre (104 mi) long pipeline to the processing station on Melkøya where it is converted into liquefied natural gas. The plant opened in 2007 and it is operated by Statoil.

History

In 2001 and 2002, major archaeological investigations on Melkøya were undertaken before Statoil's development of the island began. The development of the island has changed Melkøya completely. On 21 August 2007, the gas from the Snøhvit field began flowing to Melkøya.

Media gallery

Evening view of the island