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Russian pipeline leak soils river



By Upstream staff 

Russia has shut a pipeline in the Urals following an oil spill that has polluted a river, government officials said.

The pipeline leaked yesterday 107 kilometres west of Chelyabinsk in the southern Urals, spilling about 300 tonnes of oil over 5500 square metres and polluting the nearby Bolshaya Satka river, Viktor Beltsov, a spokesman for Russia's Emergency Ministry said today.

"The affected part of the pipeline was efficiently cut off. Oil-screen barriers are installed in the river," Beltsov said.

He declined to say how long the affected section was, but said it was part of the Tuimazy-Omsk-Novosibirsk trunk pipeline, running from Bashkortostan to East Siberia.

The Natural Resources Ministry has confirmed the leak and said it is too early to assess the consequences of the accident.

"Only after we conduct tests and see how heavily the river is polluted will we be able to say how serious it is," ministry spokesman Yevgeny Snegiryov said.

Russia's pipeline monopoly Transneft declined to comment.

Russian state oil company Rosneft and Gazprom Neft , which are among the companies using the pipeline, said their operations were not affected by the leak.

A pipeline leak that occurred in Russia's western Bryansk region in July disrupted exports.


Tuesday, 24 October, 2006, 19:44 GMT  | last updated: Tuesday, 24 October, 2006, 19:46 GMT

Pipeline problems: Transneft facilities in Russia
 

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