VILNIUS - An Environment Ministry delegation that recently visited the D-6 oil field in the Kaliningrad region said it was content with the quality of modern technologies employed there but still urged drillers to be mindful of threats posed to the environment.
Lithuanian environmentalists and the secretariat of the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, also known as the Helsinki Commission, last week visited the D-6 oil field, where crude oil extraction has been carried out at full capacity since July.
Environment Ministry Undersecretary Aleksandras Spruogis said he was satisfied with modern technologies and equipment used at the offshore site.
"The drilling site is new. Advanced technologies are applied there - everything looks fine. However, it is arranged so that in case of accidents or other unexpected situations, the main decisions have to be made by man. Therefore, the object is not protected from human mistakes," he said.
He added that the oil field still poses a threat to the environment.
"It is a big object and in any case does pose a certain threat," Spruogis said.
As he explained, it was agreed during the visit that Lukoil, the Russian company that owns the D-6 fields, would present proposals on the revision of an action plan to eliminate local oil spills within a month, considering Lithuanian officials' recommendations.
Lukoil also pledged to conduct an analysis in October to establish the risk of spills once again.
Theoretically, an oil spill at the D-6 site could destroy the ecosystem of the Curonian Spit, which is included in UNESCO's World Heritage List.
The organization recently approved Lithuania's proposal to include the Curonian Spit on the List of World Heritage in Danger if Russia failed to meet international requirements. As a result, Lukoil has been asked to evaluate the environmental effects with the help of international experts by February. If the company, which is Russia's second largest in terms of output, fails to do this, the spit will be included in the List of World Heritage in Danger.
According to preliminary data, about 600,000 tons of crude will be extracted at the oil deposit annually by Lukoil-Kaliningradmorneft, the subsidiary company that owns the license to exploit the offshore field. It is also the largest taxpayer in the region of Kaliningrad.
D-6, also known as Kravcovskoye, was discovered in 1983 and is the largest oil deposit on the sea shelf near the Kaliningrad region. The deposit is just 23 kilometers from the Curonian Spit and five kilometers from the Lithuanian maritime border.
