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EBRD supports Komi oil spill clean-up
Following a series of pipeline-related oil spills in Russia, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved a US$ 25 million loan to the Russian Federation to help finance an emergency oil spill recovery and pipeline rehabilitation programme in the Komi region.
"The international community has responded quickly to the Russian Government's request for assistance in cleaning the spills and repairing the pipelines," said Gunther Vowinckel, Co-Director of the EBRD's Natural Resources team. "The funds will be used to help contain and recover spilt oil, so preventing more pollution with the spring thaw. It will also be used to replace the damaged pipeline with a better, more durable pipe to reduce the risk of future leaks".
The EBRD is working with the World Bank, whose Board has approved a US$ 99 million loan for the clean-up programme, to assist Komineft (the oil production company which owns and operates the Kharyaga-Usinsk pipeline) and the Russian Federation to:
- stabilise the oil in the spill area to minimise the amount released during runoff and prevent further ecological damage in the Pechora River Basin
- continue the clean-up in an environmentally sound way
- minimise damage to the affected areas and give support to those people directly affected by the pollution
- replace critical sections of the badly corroded and dangerous pipeline and evaluate the need for a replacement pipeline investment project for the longer term
- identify and implement other measures to mitigate against future oil spills.
The total project cost is estimated at US$ 140 million. This includes higher than usual contingency reserves, due to uncertainty over how much oil might flow into the river systems after the spring thaw, requiring immediate and extensive recovery operations.
Part of the loan, which is expected to be signed shortly, will be used by Komineft to pay, retroactively, for work already being carried out in the oil spill region by an international consortium of foreign companies and local contractors.
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