At Seaventures Dive Resort, a decommissioned oil rig converted into a hotel and dive site off Mabul Island, near Borneo’s northeast coast, guests enjoy ocean breezes, comfortable year-round temperatures, no mosquitoes, unobstructed, panoramic views and unlimited diving in the Celebes Sea. Located one kilometer offshore, the family-owned hotel has 25 air-conditioned cabins, each with a bathroom, and two suites. Most have cable television. The roughly 78-meter-long and 20-meter-wide rig has two decks for dining and sunbathing, conference rooms, karaoke and free wireless Internet access. “Being on the rig is akin to being on a big cruise boat,” says Suzette Harris, Seaventures’ managing director. “Sitting on the decks to watch the sun rise and set each day is something that no one ever gets tired of.” Unlike on a ship, there’s no rocking or seasickness.
Dive packages include accommodations, three daily buffet meals, drinks, diving and airport transfers. Seaventures offers boat dives to nearby islands, and unlimited diving from the rig. Equipment including underwater cameras and computers can be rented (from $200 per room, $230 for suites; seaventuresdive.com).
Farther west, Mohamed Al Fayed is creating a £10 million hotel on an oil rig off Scotland’s east coast in Cromarty Firth. Though his company has been stingy with details, the project will reportedly include a 50-bedroom country-house-style hotel along with a visitors’ center, a shop and a restaurant for day travelers.
But it’s not necessary to spend a night on a rig to earn bragging rights. In Morgan City, Louisiana, the International Petroleum Museum & Exposition leads tours of the 67-meter-long “Mr. Charlie” rig, named after the father of the Murphy Oil Corp.’s late owner, who helped finance construction of the transportable, submersible rig. Visitors also get to see men and women training to enter the industry. Though the rig is located on the banks of the Atchafalaya River, 50 to 60 trainees simulate offshore conditions by living on the rig for up to two weeks at a time. “It’s the only place in the world to our knowledge where the general public can walk aboard an authentic offshore drilling rig,” says Virgil Allen, president of the museum, which plans to expand its exhibits in the future. Advance reservations are required (rigmuseum.com).
The Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig and Museum is located at Pier 19 in the Galveston, Texas, ship channel. Tourists enter via a 121-meter pedestrian bridge. Built in 1969, the rig was used by Ocean Drilling and Exploration Co. in the Gulf of Mexico. Decommissioned in 1994, the Offshore Energy Group, a non-profit group committed to educating people about the search for oil and gas offshore, acquired the rig from Diamond Offshore in 1995. The exterior, with its working equipment decks and derrick, remains intact, while the interior houses a three-level museum that displays drill bits, rig models, cutaways of subsea pipelines and a 3-D map of the Gulf of Mexico. “[Visitors] frequently comment that it helps put the cost of gasoline into perspective,” says Lisa Lisinicchia, operations director. The gift shop sells souvenirs like a sterling-silver derrick charm (oceanstaroec.com/museum.htm).
