THE lift doors close with a heavy, echoing thunk. The lift mechanism jerks sharply as it begins a juddering journey downwards. It takes almost nine minutes to travel 303 metres from Troll A's topside to the seabed. The platforms slip-formed concrete shaft - one of four - houses the risers which carry Troll's gas to surface. In the yellow light, the only sound is the soft whoosh of fluids travelling upwards from the reservoir through the risers. It is warm; the reservoir fluids still hold heat from deep within the earth. A thin shell of concrete - just 1.5 metres thick -keeps the North Sea at bay.
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