5 Per Cent of Russian Oil Extraction Lost to Pipeline Leaks BBC Monitoring Former Soviet Union - Economic Interfax news agency, Mosco

August 11, 2000

Excerpts from report in English by Russian news agency Interfax

Moscow, 9th August: ... Greenpeace representatives say some 5 per cent of the oil Russia extracts leaks from pipelines, which totals about 15m tonnes a year. The problem is very serious for Tyumen Region and Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area, where over 100m tonnes of oil are extracted per year. The local environmental committee estimates the volume of annual oil spills at 1.5 - 2m tonnes while the official reports and documents of extracting companies underreport the spills by 95 per cent

Environmentalists say oil contains several chemical substances harmful for human health and capable of causing cancer. It is not accidental that the rates of cancer and cancer-related deaths in the autonomous area have grown significantly in the past few years.

(C) 2000 BBC Monitoring Former Soviet Union

http://denver.petroleumplace.com/egatecom/scream/2000/08/11/FSUE/0000-1132-KEYWORD.Missing.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), August 11, 2000