OREANDA-NEWS. On 5th November 2013, a ceremony was held in Atyrau at which KMG-Transcaspian LLP handed over a state-of-the-art North-Caspian oil spill response base (NCOSRB) to the Consortium under a lease agreement.

The lease contract was signed in August 2013 for a period of 10 years. On 1st October 2013, the contract came into force following signing of the Act of Acceptance

Attending the event were representatives of NCOC, NCPOC, Agip KCO, KMG and KMG-TransCaspian LLP as well as the emergency situations department for Atyrau Region.

In his opening remarks, Corporate Services Director Murat Mukashev hailed the handover as a key milestone and said that the base would supplement the Venture's primary Oil Spill Response equipment stockpile located at offshore facilities, and both in Atyrau and Bautino.

The base will be managed by Agent Company NCPOC, whose Managing Director Arjan van Dijk described the base “as a world-class facility”, which would enable the Consortium “to be well prepared for the unlikely event” of oil spills happening in the shallow waters of the North Caspian Sea, although the main task for the Consortium is “not to have any oil spills“.

Sh. Sugurbekov, director-general of TransCaspian LLP, the owner of the base assured all those present that there will virtually be no impact on the environment. “We envisage that all vessels and equipment, involved in oil spill response operations, will be further transported to Bautino base, where they will be cleaned and only after that they will be returned back to the base. Regarding NCOSRB operations, we, as the owner of this base, jointly with NCPOC assure you that its activity will be performed practically without any impact on the environment,” he added.

After the ceremony the participants were shown special shallow water response equipment, booms and boats ready to promptly respond to an incident. The rest of the equipment is expected to be transferred to the base from Atyrau River port next year.