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Cases / Oil spill · Russia · 2011–2023

Lukoil-Komi oil spills in the Usinsk area and the Kolva River, 2011–2023, damage claims and payments

Nature's voice · report
In 2021 oil slicks lay on my Kolva, Usa and Pechora rivers, according to Izvestia.
Did nature suffer? Yes. Harm is on record. Disputed
Recorded
  • Rosprirodnadzor's head said about 1.3 hectares of my land was contaminated in May 2021, with about 0.3 hectares disturbed by machinery, and that 9 of about 100 tonnes of oil-containing liquid reached the river. Interfax
  • The MSU Testing Center found oil products at 500 times the maximum permissible concentration in my Kolva and at twice that concentration in my Pechora, in samples taken by a Novaya Gazeta correspondent in 2021. Novaya Gazeta
  • Locals reported dead fish on my Kolva on 10 May 2021, before the leak was officially confirmed, according to The Moscow Times. The head of Komi said later that fish faced no threat and no exceedances were found. The Moscow Times
  • According to Ivan Ivanov of the Save Pechora Committee, contamination was found about 400 km from the site in August 2021, and possibly 208 km of polluted banks on my Kolva, Usa and Pechora were ignored. 7x7 Horizontal Russia
  • Nine plots of my land, 20.5 to 21 hectares, were contaminated by the spills of 2011, according to The Moscow Times. The Moscow Times
  • Checks in 2012 found 12 contaminated plots of 224 thousand square metres, with oil in soil above norms 'more than 1,000 times' on some plots and up to 214 times the permissible concentration in a stream. Altapress
  • About 100 tonnes of oil entered my waters.
    Rosprirodnadzor, preliminary, 17 May 2021; oil content usually 40–50%; calculated, no metering units.
What the record lacks: 1 none on record · 3 not disclosed · 1 insufficient · 1 self-reported only · 1 not measured · 9 disputed · 4 unclear See the gaps
Accounts of the harm differ
How much oil was released in the May 2021 Kolva spill?
  • Government and regulators Vladimir Uyba, head of the Komi Republic: 6–7 tonnes. Interfax
  • Press and investigations The Moscow Times (14 May 2021, initial estimates): About seven tons: four tons on 1.27 ha of ground and three tons in the Kolva. The Moscow Times
  • Company or project Usinsk administration, citing Lukoil-Komi: About 90 tonnes. Interfax
  • Government and regulators Rosprirodnadzor (preliminary, 17 May 2021): About 100 tonnes of oil-containing liquid on the ground, of which 9 tonnes reached the river; oil content usually 40–50%; the volumes are estimates because there were no metering units. Interfax
  • Communities and civil society Greenpeace Russia (Vladimir Chuprov): Assumed 500 to 800 tons reached the water. 7x7 Horizontal Russia
Was the Kolva ecosystem restored after the 2021 spill, and was the water affected?
  • Company or project Vagit Alekperov, Lukoil: The ecosystem 'has already been restored' (translated). Interfax
  • Government and regulators Svetlana Radionova, Rosprirodnadzor: In June 2021 the consequences had 'not even finished being eliminated' (translated). Novaya Gazeta
  • Government and regulators Vladimir Uyba, head of Komi: Fish in the Kolva faced no threat and no exceedances of permissible concentrations were found. Interfax
  • Researchers MSU Testing Center, on samples taken by a Novaya Gazeta correspondent: Oil product concentrations of 500 times the permissible concentration in the Kolva and twice in the Pechora. Novaya Gazeta
  • Communities and civil society Ivan Ivanov, Save Pechora Committee: Contamination about 400 km from the site in August 2021; possibly 208 km of polluted banks ignored. 7x7 Horizontal Russia
Did the 2014 Greenpeace survey show 205 spills?
  • Communities and civil society Greenpeace Russia: 205 spills in the Usinskoye, Vozeyskoye and Kharyaginskoye area; it had '100 percent proof' for the 34 rejected sites. 7x7 Horizontal Russia
  • Government and regulators Rosprirodnadzor: Rejected the evidence for 34 sites; the checks of those sites were done by experts of Lukoil-Usinskneftegaz. 7x7 Horizontal Russia
How much oil entered the Kolva in the July 2023 Nobel-Oil rupture?
  • Government and regulators Rosprirodnadzor: Up to 1,000 cubic metres could have entered the Kolva (translated). Novaya Gazeta Europe
  • Company or project Nobel-Oil: Did not provide information to Rosprirodnadzor. Novaya Gazeta Europe

Spills from Lukoil-Komi pipelines in the Usinsk area of the Komi Republic and on the Kolva River led to a RUB 615 million land-damage claim that was annulled on jurisdiction grounds, and to voluntary payments after the May 2021 Kolva spill reported as RUB 374,186,000 for water and RUB 130,069,000 for soil.

RUB 374.186m (water) + RUB 130.069m (soil)Voluntary payments by Lukoil-Komi after the May 2021 Kolva spill, as reported
Figures from statements by the head of Rosprirodnadzor, reported by BFM (1 September 2021) and 7x7 (22 October 2021). The recipient is not named.

Status As of July 2023: the 2021 payments were reported paid; the Nobel-Oil rupture of 2 July 2023 was under a criminal case in Komi; Greenpeace had been listed as undesirable in Russia on 19 May 2023.

What?
Spills from Lukoil-Komi lines in the Usinsk area of the Komi Republic between 2011 and 2021 led to a RUB 615 million land-damage claim, annulled on jurisdiction grounds in 2014, and to voluntary payments after the May 2021 Kolva spill reported as RUB 374,186,000 for water and RUB 130,069,000 for soil. Business FM
Where?
Usinsk district of the Komi Republic (Usinskoye, Vozeyskoye and Kharyaginskoye fields), the Oshskoye field line in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the Ukhta area, and the Kolva, Usa and Pechora rivers. Interfax
When?
Spills in 2011, 2012, 2016, 2019, 2020 and 2021; the RUB 615 million case ran from 25 September 2013 to 2 September 2014; the Kolva spill began on 11 May 2021; payments were reported on 1 September and 21 October 2021. Business FM
Who?
Gained
  • Lukoil-Komi and Rosprirodnadzor — According to Ivan Ivanov of the Save Pechora Committee, the agreed 2021 damage suited Lukoil and spared Rosprirodnadzor from proving it in court 7x7 Horizontal Russia
Lost
  • Lukoil-Komi — Paid RUB 374,186,000 and RUB 130,069,000 in 2021 as reported; RUB 15 million on recultivation after 2011; a RUB 4.6 million fine in 2012; more than RUB 5.9 million awarded in the Ukhta case Business FM
Harmed
  • Kolva, Usa and Pechora rivers — Oil slicks in 2021; about 100 tonnes of oil-containing liquid on the ground and 9 tonnes in the river according to Rosprirodnadzor Interfax
  • Soil on nine plots in Komi — 20.5 to 21 hectares contaminated in 2011 The Moscow Times
Why?
Rostekhnadzor found that the Oshskoye line did not meet safety, strength, corrosion-resistance and reliability requirements; the 2021 volumes were calculated because the line had no metering units. Interfax
How?
Rosprirodnadzor's head said Lukoil-Komi voluntarily paid after the regulator's demands, with no court claim for damages; in 2013–2014 Rosprirodnadzor's court claim for RUB 615 million was won and then annulled on jurisdiction grounds. Business FM
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Between 2011 and 2023 spills were reported on Lukoil-Komi lines in the Usinsk district of the Komi Republic and in the neighbouring Nenets Autonomous Okrug (NAO). Nine spills on land in Komi in 2011 underlay a claim of about RUB 615 million by Rosprirodnadzor's Komi office. The Komi Arbitrazh Court granted it in full on 25 September 2013 and the Second Arbitrazh Appeal Court upheld it on 24 December 2013; in 2014 the cassation court annulled the rulings, the Komi court terminated the proceedings on 15 July 2014 on the ground that such disputes belong to courts of general jurisdiction, and the appeal court upheld the termination in September 2014. The company said the harm had already been compensated through land reclamation.

In August 2014 Greenpeace Russia's 'Oil patrol' reported 205 oil spills in the Usinskoye, Vozeyskoye and Kharyaginskoye area. Rosprirodnadzor rejected the evidence for 34 sites; the checks of those sites were done by experts of Lukoil-Usinskneftegaz, not by Rosprirodnadzor. Lukoil-Komi planned to clean 89 sites in 2015 and reclaim 28 in 2016. Other spills were reported at the Verkhne-Vozeyskoye field in September 2016 (Lukoil said three hectares; people on site said 'far bigger') and near Ukhta in May 2019, where the Komi Arbitrazh Court awarded more than RUB 5.9 million.

On 11 May 2021 a pressure pipeline of the Oshskoye field operated by Lukoil-Komi depressurised and oil reached the Kolva River at Usinsk. Volume figures differ: the head of Komi said 6–7 tonnes, the Usinsk administration citing Lukoil-Komi about 90 tonnes, and Rosprirodnadzor's head about 100 tonnes of oil-containing liquid on the ground, of which 9 tonnes reached the river; Greenpeace Russia assumed 500 to 800 tonnes reached the water. About 1.3 ha was contaminated and about 0.3 ha disturbed by machinery. The response involved 209 people, 22 boats, 2 cutters and 7 barges, and over 100 tonnes of oil-containing waste had been collected by 19 May. The emergency regime in the Usinsk, Izhma and Ust-Tsilma districts was lifted on 23 June 2021.

Rosprirodnadzor opened administrative cases, Rostekhnadzor found that the line did not meet safety, strength, corrosion-resistance and reliability requirements, and the Naryan-Mar City Court suspended operation of the line. Criminal cases were opened under Articles 246 and 250 of the Criminal Code. Lukoil-Komi was not sued for damages: Rosprirodnadzor's head said it voluntarily paid RUB 374,186,000 for water (1 September 2021) and, according to 7x7 on 22 October 2021, RUB 130,069,000 for soil. The Save Pechora Committee said the damage was 'agreed' and that the penalty had no preventive effect; Greenpeace Russia estimated possible damage at more than RUB 1 billion if 500–800 tonnes reached the water.

In July 2023 a pipeline of the company Nobel-Oil (not Lukoil) ruptured at the Yuzhno-Oshskoye field; Rosprirodnadzor's head said up to 1,000 cubic metres of oil could have entered the Kolva and that Nobel-Oil had not provided information. On 19 May 2023 the Prosecutor General's Office of Russia listed Greenpeace as an 'undesirable organisation', ending its legal activity in the country.

  1. 2011Nine spills on land in Komi underlie the later RUB 615m claim
  2. 2012March pipeline leak into the Bezymyanny stream; Lukoil-Komi fined RUB 4.6m; prosecutor opens administrative case at Usinsk City Court (6 Nov) after Greenpeace complaints
  3. 2013Komi Arbitrazh Court grants the RUB 615m claim (25 Sep); Second Arbitrazh Appeal Court upholds it (24 Dec)
  4. 2014Federal Arbitrazh Court of the Volga-Vyatka District suspends enforcement (Feb)
  5. 2014Cassation court annuls the rulings and remands the case (reported 7 May)
  6. 2014Komi Arbitrazh Court terminates the proceedings on jurisdiction grounds (15 Jul); Greenpeace 'Oil patrol' reports 205 spills (Aug)
  7. 2014Second Arbitrazh Appeal Court upholds the termination (reported 2 Sep)
  8. 2015Rosprirodnadzor and Greenpeace dispute the number of spills (Feb)
  9. 2016Spill at the Verkhne-Vozeyskoye field (Sep)
  10. 2019Spill near Ukhta (Yarega area) (May)
  11. 2020Leak from an inactive pipeline at the Kharyaga field into the Kolva (Oct)
  12. 2021Oshskoye line leak into the Kolva (11 May); emergency lifted (23 Jun); water payment reported (1 Sep); soil payment reported (21 Oct)
  13. 2023Greenpeace listed as undesirable in Russia (19 May); Nobel-Oil pipeline rupture at the Yuzhno-Oshskoye field, Kolva River (2 Jul)

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

“The ecosystem has already been restored because we took all exhaustive measures”

Vagit Alekperov, president of Lukoil (translated) · 3 June 2021 · translated from Russian · Interfax

“We are law-abiding, we always comply with all laws of the Russian Federation”

Vagit Alekperov, president of Lukoil (translated) · 4 June 2021 · translated from Russian · Izvestia

“We must clarify these calculations, what they are based on”

Vagit Alekperov, president of Lukoil (translated) · 4 June 2021 · translated from Russian · Izvestia

“Nature has suffered again, and we will pursue both damage calculations and punishment of those responsible”

Svetlana Radionova, head of Rosprirodnadzor (translated) · 17 May 2021 · translated from Russian · Interfax

“We are not presenting claims at this moment”

Svetlana Radionova, head of Rosprirodnadzor (translated) · June 2021 · translated from Russian · Novaya Gazeta

“Lukoil-Komi voluntarily paid 374 million 186 thousand rubles”

Svetlana Radionova, head of Rosprirodnadzor (translated) · 1 September 2021 · translated from Russian · Business FM

“Lukoil probably concealed the real time and scale of the accident, as they've done before”

Save Pechora Committee activists, as reported by The Moscow Times · May 2021 · The Moscow Times

“This penalty also has no preventive effect.”

“we need annual billion-ruble penalties for oil spills”

“They refused to consider the data of 34 points, even though we had 100 percent proof that there was contamination.”

“the oil-producing companies in the region are doing what they can to conceal facts related to spills”

“By our estimates 1,000 cubic meters of oil could have entered the Kolva”

Svetlana Radionova, head of Rosprirodnadzor (translated) · July 2023 · translated from Russian · Novaya Gazeta Europe

“the biggest such fine in the country's history”

Greenpeace, on the January 2014 ruling in the RUB 615m case, as reported by The Moscow Times · January 2014 · The Moscow Times

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

How much oil was released in the May 2021 Kolva spill?
Government and regulators
Vladimir Uyba, head of the Komi Republic

6–7 tonnes.

Interfax
Press and investigations
The Moscow Times (14 May 2021, initial estimates)

About seven tons: four tons on 1.27 ha of ground and three tons in the Kolva.

The Moscow Times
Company or project
Usinsk administration, citing Lukoil-Komi

About 90 tonnes.

Interfax
Government and regulators
Rosprirodnadzor (preliminary, 17 May 2021)

About 100 tonnes of oil-containing liquid on the ground, of which 9 tonnes reached the river; oil content usually 40–50%; the volumes are estimates because there were no metering units.

Interfax
Communities and civil society
Greenpeace Russia (Vladimir Chuprov)

Assumed 500 to 800 tons reached the water.

7x7 Horizontal Russia
Was the Kolva ecosystem restored after the 2021 spill, and was the water affected?
Company or project
Vagit Alekperov, Lukoil

The ecosystem 'has already been restored' (translated).

Interfax
Government and regulators
Svetlana Radionova, Rosprirodnadzor

In June 2021 the consequences had 'not even finished being eliminated' (translated).

Novaya Gazeta
Government and regulators
Vladimir Uyba, head of Komi

Fish in the Kolva faced no threat and no exceedances of permissible concentrations were found.

Interfax
Researchers
MSU Testing Center, on samples taken by a Novaya Gazeta correspondent

Oil product concentrations of 500 times the permissible concentration in the Kolva and twice in the Pechora.

Novaya Gazeta
Communities and civil society
Ivan Ivanov, Save Pechora Committee

Contamination about 400 km from the site in August 2021; possibly 208 km of polluted banks ignored.

7x7 Horizontal Russia
How should the 2021 damage be assessed, and was the payment adequate?
Company or project
Lukoil (June 2021)

Disputed the estimate of more than 300 million rubles; its president said the calculations must be clarified.

Izvestia
Government and regulators
Rosprirodnadzor (1 September 2021)

Lukoil-Komi voluntarily paid RUB 374,186,000 for water.

Business FM
Communities and civil society
Greenpeace Russia (Vladimir Chuprov)

Possible damage of more than one billion rubles if 500–800 tons reached the water; the calculation formula is not public.

7x7 Horizontal Russia
Communities and civil society
Ivan Ivanov, Save Pechora Committee

The damage is 'agreed'; it suits Lukoil and spares Rosprirodnadzor from proving it in court.

7x7 Horizontal Russia
Did the 2014 Greenpeace survey show 205 spills?
Communities and civil society
Greenpeace Russia

205 spills in the Usinskoye, Vozeyskoye and Kharyaginskoye area; it had '100 percent proof' for the 34 rejected sites.

7x7 Horizontal Russia
Government and regulators
Rosprirodnadzor

Rejected the evidence for 34 sites; the checks of those sites were done by experts of Lukoil-Usinskneftegaz.

7x7 Horizontal Russia
Was the RUB 615 million claim discharged by land reclamation?
Company or project
Lukoil-Komi

The harm was already compensated through land reclamation; the area and size of the damage were not proven.

RAPSI
Courts
Komi Arbitrazh Court and Second Arbitrazh Appeal Court (2013)

Granted the claim in full and upheld it, holding compensation separate from reclamation; later annulled and terminated on jurisdiction grounds.

RAPSI
How much oil entered the Kolva in the July 2023 Nobel-Oil rupture?
Government and regulators
Rosprirodnadzor

Up to 1,000 cubic metres could have entered the Kolva (translated).

Novaya Gazeta Europe
Company or project
Nobel-Oil

Did not provide information to Rosprirodnadzor.

Novaya Gazeta Europe

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • Lukoil's president said the Komi ecosystem had been restored.
    Vagit Alekperov, Lukoil · Interfax
  • Most of the spilled product had been collected and no rainbow film was visible along the river.
    Lukoil-Komi (May 2021) · Kommersant
  • Fish in the Kolva faced no threat and no exceedances of maximum permissible concentrations had been found.
    Vladimir Uyba, head of the Komi Republic (June 2021) · Interfax
  • The booms 'did their job'; Rostekhnadzor classified the event as an 'accident', not an 'ecological catastrophe'.
    Komi head and Rostekhnadzor, as reported by Kommersant · Kommersant
  • The 2021 payment was described as voluntary compensation for water damage.
    Rosprirodnadzor (1 September 2021) · Business FM

Recorded

  • The Komi Arbitrazh Court granted the RUB 615m claim on 25 September 2013 and the appeal court upheld it on 24 December 2013; the cassation court annulled the rulings and the proceedings were terminated on 15 July 2014 on jurisdiction grounds.
    RAPSI
  • Lukoil-Komi spent RUB 15 million on recultivation of the nine 2011 plots (20.5 to 21 hectares); the court found this insufficient (The Moscow Times).
    The Moscow Times
  • A separate RUB 96 million lawsuit by the Komi forestry committee against Lukoil was reported in 2014.
    The Moscow Times
  • Greenpeace Russia's 2014 survey: 205 spills, of which 148 from pipeline depressurisation, 20 from uncleaned sludge storage, 11 from sludge discharge and 16 from industrial waste; Rosprirodnadzor rejected evidence for 34 sites.
    7x7 Horizontal Russia
  • 2012 checks after Greenpeace complaints: 12 contaminated plots covering 224 thousand square metres; oil in soil above norms 'more than 1,000 times' on some plots, up to 214 times the permissible concentration in the stream and three times in the Kolva.
    Altapress
  • The 2021 volumes were calculated because there were no metering units on the line (Rosprirodnadzor's head).
    Interfax
  • In 2021 Rosprirodnadzor's head first gave 'more than 300 million rubles' as a damage estimate (SPIEF, 3 June 2021); Lukoil's president said the calculations must be clarified; the payments reported in September and October 2021 were RUB 374,186,000 and RUB 130,069,000.
    Izvestia
  • Greenpeace Russia's Vladimir Chuprov cited Lukoil's quarterly profits as exceeding 15 billion rubles and said the formula for the 2021 damage calculation is not public.
    7x7 Horizontal Russia
  • Ukhta 2019: Rosprirodnadzor assessed the damage at RUB 6.3 million over 1,639 square metres; the company spent RUB 476,000 on remediation; the Komi Arbitrazh Court awarded more than RUB 5.9 million.
    The Insider
  • In May 2021 the Komi State Council announced a bill raising subsoil users' liability, with a higher coefficient for pipelines past their service life.
    Kommersant
  • Since 19 May 2023 Greenpeace has been unable to operate legally in Russia.
    The Barents Observer

Who gained

Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

Reached nature or the ground

Not published
Lukoil-Komi recultivation of the nine 2011 plots15m
The court found this insufficient (The Moscow Times, 2014).
Remediation spending after the 2019 Ukhta spill0.48m
Window: 2019
Company figure reported by The Insider; the damage was assessed at RUB 6.3 million.

Gained elsewhere

Not totalled
Voluntary payment for water damage, May 2021 Kolva spill (Lukoil-Komi)374m
Window: 2021
Per Rosprirodnadzor's head; recipient not named.
Voluntary payment for soil damage, May 2021 Kolva spill (Lukoil-Komi)130m
Window: 2021
Per Rosprirodnadzor's head, reported by 7x7; the stated total in that report differs.
Rosprirodnadzor land-damage claim, nine 2011 plots (annulled 2014)≈ 615m
Window: 2013–2014
Fine, March 2012 leak into the Bezymyanny stream4.6m
Window: 2012
Court award, 2019 Ukhta spill> 5.9m
Window: 2021
Currency: RUB · Window: Mixed — see each line. Figures cover different periods and are not compared as a ratio. * Estimate built from cited figures.

Responses on record

  • lukoil (2021-06-04): Its president said on 3 June 2021 that the ecosystem had already been restored and on 4 June that the company is law-abiding and must clarify the basis of the 300-million-ruble estimate. · Izvestia
  • lukoil-komi (2021-05-19): Said in May 2021 that most of the spilled products had been collected and no rainbow film was visible along the river. · Kommersant
  • lukoil-komi (2014): In the RUB 615 million case, said the harm had already been compensated through land reclamation and that the area and size of the damage were not proven. · RAPSI
  • rosprirodnadzor (2021-09-01): Its head said Lukoil-Komi voluntarily paid RUB 374 million 186 thousand, that the spill volume was about 100 tonnes, and in June 2021 that no claims were being presented at that moment. · Business FM
  • greenpeace (2021-09-02): Its Russian office called for annual billion-ruble penalties and asked officials to publish the damage formula; in 2015 it said Rosprirodnadzor refused to consider data from 34 points. · 7x7 Horizontal Russia

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

  1. 2014Overturned on appealRUB 615m claimed; granted at first instance and on appeal, later annulled
    Rosprirodnadzor (Komi office) v. Lukoil-Komi, land damage on nine plots
    Arbitrazh Court of the Komi Republic; Second Arbitrazh Appeal Court; Federal Arbitrazh Court of the Volga-Vyatka District · Civil · Rosprirodnadzor (Komi office) → Lukoil-Komi

    The Komi Arbitrazh Court granted the claim in full on 25 September 2013 and the Second Arbitrazh Appeal Court upheld it on 24 December 2013. In February 2014 the Volga-Vyatka District court suspended enforcement and in May 2014 the cassation court annulled all rulings. On 15 July 2014 the Komi court terminated the proceedings, citing paragraph 30 of the Supreme Court Plenum resolution under which such disputes belong to courts of general jurisdiction; the appeal court's upholding of the termination was reported on 2 September 2014. The company said the harm had been compensated through reclamation. RAPSI

  2. 2012–Outcome not on record
    Prosecutor's administrative case after the March 2012 stream leak
    Usinsk City Court · Administrative · Prosecutor → Lukoil-Komi

    Opened on 6 November 2012 and sent to Usinsk City Court after Greenpeace complaints, with Greenpeace as a third party. Lukoil-Komi was reported to have been fined RUB 4.6 million for the March 2012 leak into the Bezymyanny stream. Altapress

  3. 2021Claimant wonRUB 5.9m more than; awarded
    Damage case after the May 2019 Ukhta (Yarega) spill
    Arbitrazh Court of the Komi Republic · Civil · Not named (Rosprirodnadzor assessed the damage) → Lukoil-Komi

    Reported on 2 June 2021: the court awarded more than RUB 5.9 million against Lukoil-Komi; Rosprirodnadzor had assessed the damage at RUB 6.3 million and the company spent RUB 476,000 on remediation. The Insider

  4. 2021–Outcome not on record
    Criminal cases after the May 2021 Kolva spill
    Investigative Committee for the Arkhangelsk Region and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug; Usinsk police · Criminal · Investigative Committee; Usinsk police → Not named

    A criminal case was opened under Article 246 of the Criminal Code (environmental rules during works) and the Usinsk police opened a case under Article 250 Part 1 (water pollution). Rosprirodnadzor opened administrative cases under Articles 8.13 and 8.16 of the Administrative Code. Interfax

  5. 2021–2021Claimant won
    Rostekhnadzor protocol and suspension of the Oshskoye line
    Naryan-Mar City Court · Administrative · Rostekhnadzor → Lukoil-Komi

    Rostekhnadzor found that the line did not meet requirements for safety, strength, corrosion resistance and reliability and drew up a protocol under Article 9.1 Part 1 of the Administrative Code; the Naryan-Mar City Court suspended operation of the line. Interfax

  6. 2023–Outcome not on record
    Criminal case after the July 2023 Nobel-Oil pipeline rupture
    Investigative Committee of the Komi Republic · Criminal · Investigative Committee of the Komi Republic → Not named

    A case was opened under Article 247 Part 2 of the Criminal Code and the Usinsk prosecutor started an inspection. The pipeline belonged to Nobel-Oil, not Lukoil. Novaya Gazeta Europe

Insurers

No insurer decision on record.

What nature saw

Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

May 2021 Kolva spill, volume
Estimates differ
Komi head 6–7 t; Usinsk administration citing Lukoil-Komi about 90 t; Rosprirodnadzor about 100 t (9 t to the river); Greenpeace assumed 500–800 t to water
Voluntary payments, 2021
RUB 374.186m + RUB 130.069m
Water and soil, as reported; recipient not named
RUB 615m land-damage claim
Annulled
Granted in 2013, upheld on appeal, annulled in 2014 and terminated on jurisdiction grounds
Spills found by Greenpeace Russia, 2014
205
Usinskoye, Vozeyskoye and Kharyaginskoye area; Rosprirodnadzor rejected evidence for 34 sites

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Court ruling exists

Nature

  • Disputed How much oil was released in the May 2021 Kolva spill?
  • Disputed Was the Kolva ecosystem restored after the 2021 spill, and was the water affected?
  • Disputed Did the 2014 Greenpeace survey show 205 spills?
  • Disputed How much oil entered the Kolva in the July 2023 Nobel-Oil rupture?

Court

  • Unclear Prosecutor's administrative case after the March 2012 stream leak: outcome not on record.
  • Unclear Criminal cases after the May 2021 Kolva spill: outcome not on record.
  • Unclear Criminal case after the July 2023 Nobel-Oil pipeline rupture: outcome not on record.

Accounts

  • Disputed How should the 2021 damage be assessed, and was the payment adequate?
  • Disputed Was the RUB 615 million claim discharged by land reclamation?
  • None on record Nobel-Oil: Did not provide information to Rosprirodnadzor.

Record

  • Disputed Figures differ: the two 2021 payments as reported (RUB 374,186,000 for water, per Rosprirodnadzor's head via RIA Novosti and BFM; RUB 130,069,000 for soil, per Rosprirodnadzor's head on Instagram as reported by 7x7) and the total of RUB 504,876,000 stated by 7x7.
  • Not disclosed Not disclosed: the recipient of the 2021 payments; it is not named in the coverage of the payments.
  • Not disclosed Not disclosed: Rosprirodnadzor's formula for calculating the 2021 damage; Greenpeace Russia's Vladimir Chuprov said it is not public and asked officials to publish it.
  • Self-reported only Self-reported only: the payment figures come from statements by Rosprirodnadzor's head on Instagram, relayed by RIA Novosti, BFM and 7x7.
  • Not measured Not measured: the 2021 volumes were calculated; Rosprirodnadzor's head said the line had no metering units.
  • Unclear Unclear: which Lukoil subsidiary paid the RUB 130,069,000 for soil; 7x7 names Lukoil-Komi and the Kolvinsky oil field, while another outlet attributed the payment to Lukoil-Severneftegaz.
  • Disputed Unclear: 7x7 reported a criminal fine of RUB 14,000 on a Lukoil-Komi department head; its two articles give different grounds (failure to meet emergency-prevention rules; a separate spill in the NAO in July 2021).
  • Not disclosed Not disclosed: Nobel-Oil did not provide Rosprirodnadzor with information on the July 2023 rupture (Rosprirodnadzor's head).
  • Disputed Disputed: the volume and effect of the May 2021 spill (see disputes).
  • Insufficient Insufficient: Save Pechora said in 2020 that the volume of the Kharyaga leak could not be determined because rescuers lacked recovery and metering equipment.

Did the harm stop?

Lukoil-Komi said most of the spilled product had been collected by 19 May 2021, and Komi lifted the emergency regime on 23 June 2021. Further spills were reported at other fields in 2016, 2019, 2020 and 2023.

Who paid?

Lukoil-Komi, as reported: RUB 374,186,000 for water and RUB 130,069,000 for soil in 2021, paid voluntarily after Rosprirodnadzor's demands; RUB 15 million on recultivation after the 2011 spills. The recipient of the 2021 payments is not named.

Sources

Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

Press and investigations

  12. LUKoil Hit with $18.5M Fine
    The Moscow Times · 2014-01-12
  21. More oil spills from Lukoil's pipes in Komi
    The Barents Observer · 2016-10-03
  22. Russia bans Greenpeace
    The Barents Observer · 2023-05-19

Connected cases

Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
Terms used on this page

Science and environment

Hectare (ha)
A unit of area equal to 10,000 square metres, about 2.5 acres. 100 hectares make one square kilometre.
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