North Caspian Oil Spill Response Base. What’s left: to move equipment

North Caspian Environmental Oil Spill Response Base (NCEOSRB)The construction of the North Caspian Oil Spill Response Base (NCEOSRB) has been completed. The name of the operator is still unknown.

The issue of the North Caspian Oil Spill Response Base has been raised during the international conference “Industrial Safety in Fuel and Energy Complex. Onshore and Offshore Oil Spills” held on March 14-15 in Almaty. The conference participants showed a lively interest in the potential operator of the facility and the possibility of construction of another oil spill response base in the area.

In their responses the emergency ministry representatives said that the issue of construction of another response base in the region has not been considered yet and the existing base will, probably, be operated by the resources of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

Then a KMG representative (who hasn’t introduced himself) took a microphone and informed that construction of the response base has been completed (to recall, the building contractor of the base was Tenizservice LLP where 49% of shares are owned by KMG).

– Last year at the end of December we signed the State acceptance protocol of the facility and the base will be put into operation concurrently with the start of oil production in Kashagan. As for the operator of the facility – we are considering the option of a joint use of the base by the regional division of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and NCPOC company that is currently is storing the equipment in Atyrau river port and in the future is going to move it to the oil spill response base, – he said.

By Laura Suleimenova