Residents of the village of Shchelyabozh, Usinsk region, eight kilometers from which two wells have been burning at the Alabushinskoye deposit for more than two weeks, were warned of the works with a noise effect and asked not to worry. The announcement states that the work is statutory and refers to extinguishing the fire.
Correspondent of «7x7» appealed to the Department for Civil Defense and Emergency Situations of Usinsk to clarify what kind of work would be carried out.
'This information was given to us by Lukoil, and we bring it to the public,' representative of the department said. 'A special memo was prepared so that possible noise effects were not unexpected for the population. This is all planned, under the control, specialists are working within the framework of statutory maintenance.'
Sergei Makarov, deputy general director of Lukoil-Komi for public relations, confirmed that work would be carried out at the field, but did not specified.
'There will be attempts to eliminate the fire,' he said. 'There are a number of methods, Work will be conducted in many fields.'
Representative of Lukoil-Komi also said that he did not know whether the well would be damaged and whether its further operation would be possible. Sergei Makarov explained that the main work to combat the fire would not be conducted by the company so there is a lack of information.
'The work is carried out by the Emergency Situations Ministry and the anti-fountain service, we are just members of the headquarters,' he said.
Fire at the Alabushinskoye deposit, which belongs to the company Lukoil-Komi, started on April 10, 2017. Presumably, the reason was the release of oil and gas blend.
Residents of the nearest settlements — the villages of Shchelyabozh and the village of Kushor — were concerned about the current situation and the fact that the accident could cause serious damage to the environment and human health.
Despite the fact that the representatives of the mining company said that there was no danger to the local population, the material on the website of Greenpeace Russia suggested that the fire could cause serious damage to people's health.
Elena Solovyova, «7x7»
