The stretch of beach where Kazzans were built became known as Chicago Beach
Later Chicago Beach Village (CBV) was built in the same area
Chicago Beach Hotel was built at the end of Jumeirah Beach Road
CBH and CBV have disappeared, as has the name "Chicago Beach", from Dubai's Maps
Image by Ludwig Hejze
Dubai's Oil was discovered offshore in 1967.
That raised the problem of how oil could be stored before being exported.
Land based storage was expensive
Undersea storage tanks were the most economical and practical solution.
Chicago Bridge and Engineering Company were awarded the design and build of these tanks.
These undersea storage tanks were given the name Kazzan.
Meaning Tank or Reservoir
Champagne and Oil do not mix. Oil and Seawater do not mix either.
This property forms the basis for deploying Dubai's underwater storage tanks (called Kazzans).
The system harnesses both oil pressure from the offshore oil well and seawater pressure to allow oil to flow in and out of the underwater storage tanks without the need for any powered pumps.
This system provided an economical solution to Dubai's problem of how to store their offshore oil.
This Beach began to be referred to as Chicago Beach after the Chicago Bridge and Engineering Company established their Kazzan Construction facility on the beach.
Chicago Beach was out of town back in 1970. Road access was poor and there were no nearby facilities. These three 100 meter high structures were to be built on top of the beach sand inside a sand dam wall. This allowed sea water to be pumped in behind the dam wall to float the Kazzans aided by airbags attached to the Kazzan once construction was complete.
With a Kazzan was afloat, the dam wall was dug away and the Kazzan towed out to sea by a Tug. The Tug towed the Kazzan into position at Al Fateh Offshore Oilfield where air was released from the airbags and the Kazzan sunk onto the sea bed.
Kazzans were important to Sheikh Rashid.
Although oil had been discovered in 1960s, Dubai had not been able to export their oil so obtain revenue to support Sheikh Rashid's ambitious development plans.
Putting these Oil Storage Tanks in place meant Dubai was close to exporting its oil and funding Dubai's development.
Dubai's oil find was modest compared to some of its neighbours but crucial to Dubai's future.
