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Let's protect the fragile Arctic!

The state-owned company “Gazprom” through its subsidiary “Gazprom Neft Shelf” starts its oil mining activities in the Arctic. The first off-shore drilling platform “Prirazlomnaya” reached its destination on the 26st of August, 2011, and is due to start drilling later this year.

Off-shore oil mining, especially in the severe Arctic conditions, dramatically increases the risk of oil spills. Catastrophes at oil drilling platforms and tankers, which occurred in the recent decades, have already inflicted unrecoverable damage on the environment.

If you do not want to let the tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico happen again and if you feel concerned about the Arctic with its rich and vulnerable wildlife, it is really the time for immediate measures to be taken.

We ask you to fill in the form and sign the Petition to Vladimir Putin.

 

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So far there has not been a single instance of a successful cleanup of an oil spill in the most complicated Arctic conditions where the oil drilling is about to be launched. If an emergent situation occurs, the volume of oil leaked into the sea can reach 60-70 thousand barrels (about 8000-10000 tons). The outcome will be very much worse due to the fact that the nearest rescue infrastructure point from where rescue operation could be launched is located in the port of Murmansk - a thousand (!) kilometres away from the oil drilling site.

We stress that “Gazprom” did admit itself the mere fact that there are a number of ecologically safe alternatives to the oil and gas drilling in the Arctic.

This appeal is initiated by a coalition of environmental organisations including Socio-Ecological Union, Russian Bird Conservation Union, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Russia, Greenpeace Russia, Bellona Murmansk.

Greenpeace UK urges Prime Minister of Greenland to suspend the drilling at the Greenland shelf carried out by Scotland-based “Cairn Energy” company – in fact, the first attempt to conduct oil drilling in the Arctic seas. You can support this demand at the Greenpeace UK web-page.

Mr Putin.
On the 26th of August, 2011, the “Pryrazlomnaya” oil drilling rig reached its destination in the Pechora Sea. In our opinion, the plan to develop the Prirazlomnoye oil field poses a crucial problem which reveals in the fact that the local rescue services are incapable of cleaning up large oil spills - the nearest rescue infrastructure is located in Murmansk, a thousand kilometres away from the drilling site. The decision to start the oil drilling by the “Prirazlomnaya” platform is absolutely contrary to the RF President’s commitment to ensure the environmental safety of projects focusing on the prospecting, producing and transporting of hydrocarbonates on the continental shelf of the Russian Federation. At the present day no country in the world possesses any efficient technologies and equipment that could make it possible to clean up a large oil spill in the freezing seas.
We therefore ask you:
To suspend the installation of the “Prirazlomnaya” platform until the requirements put forward by the RF President are fulfilled.
To ensure the openness and transparency of the project documentation and permits.
To hold an open and in-depth discussion on the environmental safety of the project.   
To hold a thorough discussion on the reduction of oil spills in the Arctic.
To hold an in-depth discussion on the economic feasibility of oil and gas mining in the Arctic including the Arctic shelf.

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