Climate Warming Threatens Russian Northern Pipelines

01.12.2009 — News

UGRA.

Every fifth emergency at West Siberian pipelines is caused by thawing of the permafrost. This is the conclusion given by the Greenpeace's study of socioeconomic and natural consequences of the climatic change. 

The Russian office of Greenpeace informed RusBusinessNews that 1,900 disasters occur every year in the oilfields of Ugra. Uneven ground subsidence when the permafrost thaws and squeezing the foundations out when the soil freezes were identified as the main causes of technological breakdowns. There are similar problems faced by the gas producing companies in Yamal.

Maintaining the working order of pipelines and the liquidation of deformations caused by changes in permafrost costs producing companies 55 billion roubles a year. Specialists reckon that the costs of preparing sites for property development in the West Siberia may grow by 3 to 56% due to the need for additional thermostabilization measures.