Russia is battling a major oil spill in the Komi region of the Arctic, about 30 miles north of the city of Usinsk.
A 26 in. crude oil pipeline spilled the oil last August, but it was contained by earthen dams. Several leaks developed in the line, built in 1975 to move oil from a field to a terminal at Usinsk.
Heavy rains washed out the dams Oct. 1, spilling oil into the Kolva River and then into the Usa River. Both are tributaries of the Pechora River, which empties into the Arctic Ocean.
Russian officials said the dams had been repaired, and oil was being kept out of the Pechora.
SPILL ESTIMATES
The size of the spill was in dispute. Komineft, the Russian oil company involved, said 102,200 bbl was lost, but other Russian officials placed the volume at 219,000-438,000 bbl.
William White, deputy secretary of the U.S. Energy Department, said American oil companies active in the area had estimated the spill at 2 million bbl.
White said, "Whether it be 100,000 bbl or 2 million bbl, that's a lot of oil. Even the lowest number we've heard, 100,000 bbl, would be about 40% of the size of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. So that's a very substantial oil spill."
A DOE spokesman said U.S. officials are trying to get more reliable estimates of the size.
DOE has offered to help the Russians locate international firms to help them recover the oil and clean up the rivers. The spokesman said much of the oil is hidden under river ice and added "the arctic environment heals a lot more slowly than other environments."
Snow and freezing weather slowed the cleanup effort, and remediation is expected to be difficult in the permafrost region. The government established a commission to manage the cleanup, ordering work to be finished before the spring thaw, starting about Apr. 1.
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