Renewed extraction at catastrophe gas field

Regional authorities last year granted the company SN Invest the right to restart production in the risky project. In a recent conference in Arkhangelsk, company representative Yevgenii Volkov said that renewed production at “Kumzha” is far safer than considered by critics. Environmentalists have long warned against the production plans arguing that the gas and gas condensate is contaminated by radioactivity after the nuclear explosion. They also say that there is a chance that new production could result in contamination of underground fresh water and that it could give further harm to the national park surrounding the field. The SN Invest does admit that there is a complicated environmental situation around the “Kumzha”. The company intends to spend one billion RUB on the environmental upgrade of the area. After the 1981 gas outburst, the area was attempted sealed off with the construction of protection walls. Soon however, oil substances started to leak through the walls, harming fish and flora in the area. The SN Invest says it is confident that it will cope with the problems. The “Kumzha” field located in the Timan-Pechora province about 60 km north of the regional capital of Naryan-Mar. Despite former production and the major gas outburst, the Kumzha field is still considered among the biggest in the region. According to figures from the industry, the field contains 94,2 billion cubic meters of category C1 gas and 10,3 billion cubic meters of category C2 gas. The SN Invest says it wants to turn the Kumzha gas into LNG. The whole project is believed to create as many as 750 new jobs, Regnum reports