Strategic Russian pipeline to be re-routed 400 kilometres from Baikal

ENERGY TECH

File photo of Lake Baikal

by Staff Writers
Moscow (AFP) May 26, 2006
An oil pipeline that Russia is building from Siberia to the Pacific Ocean will follow a route 400 kilometres (250 miles) away from Lake Baikal in order to allay environmental concerns, the head of Russia's pipeline monopoly said Friday.

"The pipeline will be significantly diverted away from Baikal.... At its closest point it will lie at a distance of 400 kilometres," Transneft's chief executive Semyon Vainshtok said at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, quoted by ITAR-TASS.

Putin earlier ordered a revision of plans that would have seen the strategic pipeline built just a few hundred metres from Baikal, the world's largest fresh water lake.

The region is notoriously prone to earthquakes and environmental activists -- joined by local and regional officials -- have protested that the pipeline posed a major threat to the lake.

As a result of the new route, the first stage of the pipeline, from Taishet in the Irkutsk province to Skovorodino in Amur province, will be an extra 400 kilometres in length, Vainshtok said.

The pipeline is a central element of Russian plans to supply energy-hungry markets in the Asia-Pacific region with oil from huge fields in Siberia, plans that also envisage construction of new pipelines for shipping natural gas.

Baikal is home to a range of unique flora and fauna, including the world's only freshwater seal.

Related Links

ENERGY TECH

Oil giants turn to Arctic promised land

Hammerfest, Norway (AFP) May 28, 2006
Sky-high prices and dwindling supplies have rekindled the interest of oil companies in the Arctic region, which remains largely unexplored and could hold a quarter of the world's undiscovered oil and gas reserves.

DISASTER MANAGEMENT Ocean Useful In Hurricane Disaster Relief 350 Australian troops have arrived in East Timor: PM Researchers Release Draft Final Report On New Orleans Levees CapRock Expands Disaster Satellite Services in Preparation For Hurricane Season	CLIMATE SCIENCE Climate change threatens EU biodiversity target: Britain Tropical Forests Leak Nitrogen Back Into Atmosphere Greenhouse Gas/Temp Feedback Mechanism May Raise Warming Further Canada wants Kyoto climate-change deal scrapped: report
EARTH OBSERVATION Digital Globe European Partner To Supply Sat Imagery To European Commission NASA GOES Mission Goes On Schedule ESA Makes World Fire Maps Available Online UN puts world fish monitoring data on Internet	ENERGY TECH Strategic Russian pipeline to be re-routed 400 kilometres from Baikal Bush hails House bill opening Alaska wildlife refuge to drilling Oil prices firmer on Iran, US demand concerns Oil giants turn to Arctic promised land
EPIDEMICS Orange Juice Could Be A Source Of Foodborne Disease Iran Bird Flu On UN Agenda No Cancer Link For Pot Smokers New Vaccine Development Provides Potent Long-Lasting Immunity	FLORA AND FAUNA Live Via Satellite: Scientists To Track Caspian Sea Sturgeons Satellite Tracking Reveals Migratory Mysteries Of Atlantic Loggerhead Turtles How Ancient Whales Lost Their Legs, Got Sleek And Conquered The Oceans Brazil Creates Buffer Zone Around Coral Reefs Off Atlantic Coast
FROTH AND BUBBLE Managing Indian E-Waste Finland hopes to clean up Russian shipping in Baltic Test For Dioxin Sensitivity In Wildlife Could Result From New Study Exxon Valdez Oil Found In Tidal Feeding Grounds Of Ducks, Sea Otters	ABOUT US MIT Poet Develops 'Seeing Machine' Robotic Joystick Reveals How Brain Controls Movement Cure For Reading Glasses May Be In View When It Comes To Privacy, Gender Matters

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement