On December 19, there was the third oil spill in the last two months in the Ukhta Urban District on the pipeline of the Yareganeft Enterprise (owned by LUKOIL-Komi). The Head of the Save Pechora Committee Environmental Movement (SPC) Ivan Ivanov told 7x7 that it had happened the day before.
The activist, citing a source, reported that the oil spill had occurred on December 18 1.5–2 km from the site of the last accident that occurred in early December. Emergency services workers and foresters have inspected the site. Experts are determining the cause, the volume of the spill, the area of contamination, and the damage caused. According to the activist, the oil has got to the designated forest land.
According to LUKOIL-Komi, the loss of piping integrity occurred on December 19. They told 7x7 that the area of contamination was less than during previous accidents, but did not give specific figures. The company assured that there was no threat of oil entering water resources.
“As soon as the loss of piping integrity was detected, delivery through the pipeline was stopped. On the same day, the leak was localized - it is not so big, so it is not going further. At the same time, the pipeline pressurization was restored. We have reported the accident to the authorized government bodies, organized the leak clean-up,” the press relations service reported.
Update 15:17:
Valery Torlopov, a member of the Save Pechora Committee and head of the Civil Control Public Association, who examined the accident site on December 21, told 7x7 that about 1 m3 of oil had spilled on the surface, and the spill area was 50–75 m2.
Update December 22:
According to the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Komi Republic, an oil leak from an underground interfield oil pipeline was found in the evening of December 18. The next morning, a commission consisting of employees of the Ukhta Civil Defence and Emergencies Authorities, Ukhta Forestry and Town Department for Environmental Protection of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Komi responded to the accident site. Floating oil got from the pit into a ditch located along the flyover. It flowed over 3 m and along 150 m. The total area of contamination was 450 m2. Down the relief, 150 m from the depressurization site, a pit was dug to collect floating oil, there is no threat of oil products entering surface water bodies.
The activists of SPC reported that the first of three oil spills on Yareganeft’s pipeline had been in October. Two months later, they discovered the second accident.
