Prosecutor begins inspection following oil spill at Nobel-Oil site

ST. PETERSBURG. July 3 (Interfax) - The Usinsk Prosecutor's Office has organized an inspection of the spillage of petroleum products into the Kolva River, the Komi Republic Prosecutor's Office said.

"The prosecutor's office has organized an inspection in connection with the incident at the Nobel-Oil oil-collector pipeline, as a result of which oil-containing products spilled onto the terrain and into the Kolva River," the report says.

Andrei Kotelnikov, Prosecutor for Usinsk, went to the scene to coordinate the clean-up of the oil spill.

The press service of Russia's Investigative Committee for the Komi Republic said that the Committee's investigators are looking into the causes and circumstances of the oil spill.

"On July 2, law enforcement agencies received information about the spill of an oily liquid into the Kolva River. Based on this fact, the investigating authorities of the Komi Republic Investigative Committee organized a procedural check," the report says.

Earlier it was reported that Rosprirodnadzor had warned of a potential spill of 1,000 cubic meters of oil into the Kolva River. The agency, together with the Center for Laboratory Analysis of Technical Measurements, is planning to take water and soil samples.

The Nobel-Oil Operating Company operates in the fields of Western Siberia and the Timan-Pechora oil and gas province in Komi. The company provides operator services to four subsoil user companies, its website says. It currently operates in seven fields.

Exploratory operations are underway in five licensed areas.