20 Feb 2012 12:48

Oil spill occurs at Rosneft field in Sakhalin

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK. Feb 20 (Interfax) - An oil spill has occurred at Rosneft subsidiary LLC RN-Sakhalinmorneftegaz's oilfield in northern Sakhalin, head of the regional public organization Sakhalin Environmental Watch Dmitry Lisitsyn told Interfax.

The oil spill occurred on February 15 at an underground pipeline passing through a sandy spit between the Piltun Bay and the Sea of Okhotsk. "The pipeline was damaged by a bulldozer in the area of production wells 201 and 202. Several dozens of tonnes of oil leaked approximately in this area," Lisitsyn said.

RN-Sakhalinmorneftegaz has already spent two days working to fix the damage, having repaired the damaged pipeline on the day of the spill. On February 17, the company removed the main part of the polluted soil and snow for recycling.

Sakhalin Environmental Watch has already addressed Natural resources watchdog Rosprirodnadzor's territorial branch, the Sakhalin interregional environmental protection procurator and the Okha city procurator with the request to look into the event.

Ecologists intend to survey this area in the spring in order to determine whether any petroleum products leaked into the Pultin Bay or the Sea of Okhotsk, and how much. "The forage area for grey whales, which normally arrive in May, is here. This forage area could be polluted," Lisitsyn said.