OREANDA-NEWS. October 26, 2007. OOO LUKOIL-Kaliningradmorneft (OAO LUKOIL’s 100% subsidiary) announced 2006 environmental monitoring results of Kravtsovskoye oil field (D-6) in the Baltic Sea.

The research suggests that the negative impact caused by drilling and production activities on the marine environment was not recorded in the monitoring area, nor were any changes detected in the state of the Baltic Sea.

Local monitoring was performed near the fixed offshore ice-resistant off-loading terminal (FOIROT), regional monitoring covered the South-East of the Russian economic zone in the Baltic Sea and the Curonian lagoon coast.

On OOO LUKOIL-Kaliningradmorneft’s request, to detect oil pollution promptly, satellite monitoring of the sea surface was continued. It was based on radar images analysis by ENVISAT (European Space Agency) and RADARSAT (Canadian Space Agency) satellites. Radar images were analyzed by Kongsberg Satellite Services, a Norwegian company. In order to analyze the images, a web-site was created which contained information on the date and time of satellite flights, a map with indication of the image spot, a report on pollution (if any), and the results of image decoding. This information became available to the customer within 1.5 hours after the satellite flight. In total, 183 radar images were taken and analyzed. The space monitoring revealed 87 spills, but none of them was detected near the FOIROT and subsea pipeline route. Sea vessels were found to be the main source of oil pollution.

Besides, environmental monitoring was conducted by Professor Shtokman, AtlantNIRO, Atlantida and Kembriy, specially equipped vessels. Environmental information was collected by two bottom observatories, a hydrophysical station, two hydrometeorological stations and three meteorological stations, installed directly on the FOIROT, at Curonian lagoon, in Klaipeda, Baltiysk and Pionerskiy. The first subsea seismic station was installed in the region.

Experts of Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Kant Russian State University, Analytical Research Institute for Fishery and Oceanography, Karpinskiy All-Russian Institute of Geology, Institute of Global Climate and Ecology of RosHydroMet of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Komarov Institute of Botanics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Krylov Central Research Institute and OOO Offshore Venture Bureau participated in monitoring results processing.