Russian oil cos wouldn't cope with oil spills under ice - WWF
DZERZHINSK. June 9 (Interfax) - Russian oil companies would not be able to cope with an oil spill under ice, Igor Chestin, head of the Russian branch of the World Wildlife Fund, said at a meeting of the State Council.
"All discussions with Russian oil companies indicate that not one of them has the technology to deal with an oil spill under ice," Chestin said.
He said oil companies ought possess this technology as a condition for obtaining licenses. Arctic conditions are far more severe than conditions in the Gulf of Mexico, he said.
The State Duma's Natural Resources Committee has started to draft a law on protection for oil pollution in seas before the Russian Natural Resources Ministry got round to this, Chestin said. "The committee has produced a more comprehensive bill and I suggest using that as the basis," he said.
