Summary of a report on the Rusian Pacific pipeline - November 2005

A report on the Russian Pacific Pipeline, co-authored by WWF, Greenpeace and IFAW, will be made public today (Tuesday 8) during a press conference in Moscow.

The report discloses that Transneft has justified the selection of Perevoznaya as a terminal site with grossly incorrect data. This data includes essential indicators for the suitability of terminal sites, such as the local depth of the sea, shelter from winds at the terminal site, exposure to high waves and ice conditions in winter.

• According to the Transneft data, Perevoznaya is a sheltered bay although in reality it is little more than a bend in the coastline.
• They claim there is no solid ice cover on the Amur Bay in winter, although in reality large trucks can drive from Vladivostok to Perevoznaya across the ice on the bay.
• Strong winds and fog are relatively common in the Amur Bay, and the bay is large, open and shallow. As a result, the terminal must be built at least two kilometers offshore where tankers will be exposed to high waves and frequent storms.
• Tankers will need to navigate through a string of small islands to reach the terminal.
• One recent study indicates that the risk of a major oil spill occurring is up to 17 times higher if a terminal were to be built at Perevoznaya than if a site near Nakhodka or elsewhere in southern Primorsky Krai were to be selected.
• In addition, an oil spill in the Amur Bay will be very difficult to control and will pollute a much larger coastline than if an alternative site is selected.
• A UNESCO delegation visiting Lake Baikal 2 weeks ago concluded that building the pipeline at 800 m from the lake -as Transneft intends- is unacceptable from an ecological point of view. The UNESCO delegation head stated that the risks to the World Heritage Site is very high, because it would be impossible to remove an oil spill before it the reaches the lake.
• Perevoznaya is presently a pristine coastline; the proposed oil port infrastructure would be developed from scratch. It would be much more efficient to build on already existing infrastructure near Nakhodka, Primorsky Krai's largest port, where oil terminals already exist.
• Three Russian ministers (-1 Natural Resources, -2 Transport and -3 Economic Development & Trade) have now spoken out against a terminal at Perevoznaya, and declared that Nakhodka would be a much better choice.
• Finally, a terminal on the Amur Bay would threaten the rich biodiversity of southwest Primorsky Krai, one of Russia's foremost "biodiversity hotspots." Fifteen percent of Russia's endangered species can be found only in this part of the country. One of the endangered animals found only in Southwest Primorsky Krai is the Amur leopard, probably the world's rarest big cat with a population of about 30 individuals. The pipeline would run through a wildlife refuge and the proposed terminal site is located very close to Kedrovaya Pad, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and important leopard habitat. Russia's only marine reserve, is located on the Amur Bay not far from the designated tanker routes to and from the proposed terminal site at Perevoznaya.

However, Transneft persists in its plan to build at Perevoznaya. It has stated that even if some of the Transneft data concerning terminal locations is incorrect, Perevoznaya is still the best choice!

For full details of this report, please click here.

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