HELCOM Secretariat delegation visits Lukoil’s Kravtsovskoye (D-6) oilfield

The Helsinki Commission Secretariat welcomed the possibility to visit Kravtsovskoye (D-6) oilfield, located on the Baltic Sea shelf near the shores of Kaliningrad region, and to get acquainted with the environmental safety measures that are exercised there by Russian oil giant Lukoil.

“We are very pleased to visit Lukoil’s oil producing facilities in the Kaliningrad region”, said HELCOM Executive Secretary Anne Christine Brusendorff. “We also welcome the application of the “zero discharge” policy on the oil platform on the Baltic Sea shelf together with sophisticated environmental monitoring system”, added Ms. Brusendorff.

At the invitation of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia and Lukoil, the delegation of the Helsinki Commission Secretariat toured Lukoil’s oil platform on the Baltic Sea shelf, the oil collection station “Romanovo” and the oil terminal in Ezhevskiy on September 29 – 1 October.

The Kravtsovskoye (D-6) deposit was opened in 1983 and sits 22,5 km from Kaliningrad region’s shore and 5 km from the Lithuanian Exclusive Economic Zone. Assessments show oil reserves of 21,5 million tonnes and recoverable reserves of 9,1 million tonnes. Production at the site began in July 2004. Most of the oil produced at the oilfield is exported to Baltic Sea countries.

The development of the oilfield sparked a lot of controversy in the Baltic region due to the possible risks to the environment that it might pose. Some experts think that a major oil spill from Lukoil’s platform or the pipeline that runs to the shore would be a huge disaster for the environment. Lukoil insists that their facilities are safe.

The Kravtsovskoye (D-6) deposit is located near to the Curonian Spit Russian and Lithuanian National Parks. This 98 km long and 0,4-4 km wide unique sand dune peninsula is considered a HELCOM Baltic Sea Protected Area and in 2000 was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List on the request of Russia and Lithuania.

Contacts

HELCOM Secretariat

Mr Nikolay Vlasov
Information Secretary
Tel: +358 9 6220 2235
Fax: +358 9 6220 2239