Kazakhstan, Atyrau, June 20 / Trend, D. Mukhtarov /
The second oil spill rapid response base must be created in the Kazakh part of the Caspian Sea, Advisor to Director General of "Kazakh Oil Gas Institute" Zhaksybek Kulekeev said on Wednesday.
"At present, the North Caspian Environmental Response Base (NCERB) is being established in the Atyrau region," he told the media on the sidelines of the third International Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition "The Caspian shelf development" in Atyrau on Wednesday. "But I think the site for the base is unsuitable because the northern part of the Caspian Sea is covered with ice for five months in winter. If any incidents occur at sea, it will be difficult to operate at sea in the winter. We need to have an extra base to respond to such spills."
He stressed that the issue is in the competence of the plenipotentiary bodies.
"The site for this base has been already chosen by focusing mainly on the "Kashagan", but we have other sources of oil penetration into the sea," he added. "These are tankers and the risk of oil spills from tankers will increase during their oil transportation."
He said that the second base could be placed in the area of Kuryk.
"It is possible to get anywhere in the Caspian Sea from Kuryk and we will be able to respond quickly," he said.
Kulekeev reminded that Kazakhstan has been actively engaged in the problem of oil spills at sea for the last two years. A national plan on oil spill response at sea and inland waters was approved in Kazakhstan in 2012.
"Kazakhstan does not have the infrastructure to liquidate great oil spills," he said. "Taking into account approaching commissioning of "Kashagan", this issue becomes more important."