The Pechora Environmental Interdistrict Prosecutor's Office launched investigation on the fact of the oil spill due to the depressurization of the pipeline in the Pechora district. The spill area was one third of a hectare, the press service of the Komi prosecutor's office reported on December 21.
According to the office, the spill occurred on December 19 — the pipeline from the wells to the oil preparation unit was depressurized at the North Irael field, where Pechoraneftegaz JSC operates.
On December 20, the Pechora environmental interdistrict prosecutor Nikolay Vasilenko went to the scene of the accident to inspect the contaminated area and monitor the work on its cleaning. Specialists from the Pechora City Department for Environmental Protection of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of Komi and Kagzherom Forestry arrived at the scene of the incident.
The oil spill site is located on forest land, the area of disturbed land is about 0.3 hectares, the volume of oil spilled is about 9 m³.
According to the Komi Ministry of Natural Resources, of the 163 hydrocarbon fields, oil and gas are produced in 83, 75 of them are in commercial operation and eight in the pilot industry. In 2014–2017, 56 oil spills were registered in the region, as a result of which 287.7 m³ of oily liquid fell on the ground and in water bodies, the pollution area was 19 hectares. The latest report on the Komi environment states that "the vast majority of emergencies are related to pipeline breaks due to aging, high wear and insufficient funding for repairs." Field pipelines have leading positions in the number of accidental oil spills.
