28 Apr 2010 19:41

Russia

ASTRAKHAN. April 28 (Interfax) - Russian companies developing offshore oilfields in the North Caspian are in strict compliance with international environmental standards, applying zero discharge technology among others, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has said.

"All work related to the development of fields in the North Caspian is being conducted in strict compliance with international environmental standards," he said at a conference in Astrakhan on the development of offshore fields in the Russian sector of the Caspian.

"Russian companies drilling wells in the Caspian Sea for the first time applied zero discharge technology," he said.

"I hope that companies from other countries operating in the Caspian will join in this initiative," Putin said.

He noted that zero discharge technology means the absence of pollutants resulting from production operations in all water discharges.

"All waste is collected into closed containers and brought to shore," he said.

Putin said that the Caspian Economic Cooperation Organization should center its attention on protecting the unique ecological system of the Caspian.

The new international organization was jointly formed by partners in the region - Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, he said.