By vacuuming the geological layers of the earth, extraction creates ecologies complicated by the politics of migration, exploitation, colonization and urbanization.1 Acts of extractivism, which renders "ecological violence distant, and therefore possible,"2 gives birth to a landscape characterized by indifference, gaps, fragmentation, and disconnected sites of energy production and consumption. This vast expanse is manifested in sprawling plains, deserts, forests, and farms, as well as endless stretches of roads, highways, and vast volumes of oceans and seas. These expanses of land and water make the infrastructure of extraction shielded from view, occasionally glimpsed but always secured, fenced off, and protected. The oil and gas extraction industry, along with the petroleum industry, have taken this landscape of distance and separation to even greater extremes, rendering it inaccessible, invisible, and perilous to anyone who dares to approach. This immense gap, this space of silence, is a stark manifestation of the violence perpetuated by the oil industry. It is within this gap that the exploration in this chapter unfolds, oscillating between the sites of petroleum industries and the urban centers. I will delve into this distance by tracing an oil route in Scotland, where it connects the Mossmorran Chemical plant in Fife to the Forties Oil Field in the North Sea and the Sullom Voe oil and gas terminal in Shetland. The Mossmorran Chemical Plant, situated near the once- thriving mining towns of Cowdenbeath and Lochgelly, has turned its back on these dwindling communities, inflicting air and light pollution while maintaining a safe distance. The Forties Oil Rig, located approximately one hundred and ten miles east of Aberdeen in the North Sea, has given rise to its own unique habitat and social class, isolated amidst vast volumes of water. The Sullom Voe Terminal, positioned at the northern tip of the largest of the Shetland Islands, stands as one of Europe's largest oil terminals, yet remains invisible from the nearest urban center. This text aims to shed light on these three sites by examining their proximity to urban centers and human habitats, revealing the violence they inflict upon nearby habitats, concealed by their deliberate distance. 1. Helene Frichot & Sepideh Karami (2023). “Architecture as Infrastructure: The Spatial Politics of Extractivism.”In The Routledge Handbook of Architecture, Urban Soace and Politics, Volume I, Nikolina Bobic and Farzaneh Haghighi (eds.). New York and London: Routledge. p.96. 2. María Faciolince Martina & Daniel Macmillen Voskoboynik, “Reimagining Landscapes of Loss: The Expressive Challenge of Environmental Violence”, The Tilt, March 09, 2021, https://thetilt.org/reimagining-landscapes-of-loss-eb4b3dd10308.

The Violence of the Off-scenes: The Gap Between the Petroleum Production and Consumption

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发表日期：

2026年

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Sepideh Karami

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By vacuuming the geological layers of the earth, extraction creates ecologies complicated by the politics of migration, exploitation, colonization and urbanization.1 Acts of extractivism, which renders "ecological violence distant, and therefore possible,"2 gives birth to a landscape characterized by indifference, gaps, fragmentation, and disconnected sites of energy production and consumption. This vast expanse is manifested in sprawling plains, deserts, forests, and farms, as well as endless stretches of roads, highways, and vast volumes of oceans and seas. These expanses of land and water make the infrastructure of extraction shielded from view, occasionally glimpsed but always secured, fenced off, and protected. The oil and gas extraction industry, along with the petroleum industry, have taken this landscape of distance and separation to even greater extremes, rendering it inaccessible, invisible, and perilous to anyone who dares to approach. This immense gap, this space of silence, is a stark manifestation of the violence perpetuated by the oil industry. It is within this gap that the exploration in this chapter unfolds, oscillating between the sites of petroleum industries and the urban centers. I will delve into this distance by tracing an oil route in Scotland, where it connects the Mossmorran Chemical plant in Fife to the Forties Oil Field in the North Sea and the Sullom Voe oil and gas terminal in Shetland. The Mossmorran Chemical Plant, situated near the once- thriving mining towns of Cowdenbeath and Lochgelly, has turned its back on these dwindling communities, inflicting air and light pollution while maintaining a safe distance. The Forties Oil Rig, located approximately one hundred and ten miles east of Aberdeen in the North Sea, has given rise to its own unique habitat and social class, isolated amidst vast volumes of water. The Sullom Voe Terminal, positioned at the northern tip of the largest of the Shetland Islands, stands as one of Europe's largest oil terminals, yet remains invisible from the nearest urban center. This text aims to shed light on these three sites by examining their proximity to urban centers and human habitats, revealing the violence they inflict upon nearby habitats, concealed by their deliberate distance. 1. Helene Frichot & Sepideh Karami (2023). “Architecture as Infrastructure: The Spatial Politics of Extractivism.”In The Routledge Handbook of Architecture, Urban Soace and Politics, Volume I, Nikolina Bobic and Farzaneh Haghighi (eds.). New York and London: Routledge. p.96. 2. María Faciolince Martina & Daniel Macmillen Voskoboynik, “Reimagining Landscapes of Loss: The Expressive Challenge of Environmental Violence”, The Tilt, March 09, 2021, https://thetilt.org/reimagining-landscapes-of-loss-eb4b3dd10308.