Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 16
By Maksim Tsurkov – Trend:
Environmental monitoring conducted Dec. 16 in the waters around the Gunashli and Oil Rocks offshore fields in the Caspian Sea hasn’t revealed any serious oil spills, Azerbaijan’s oil company SOCAR said on its website Dec. 16.
A fire broke out on the offshore platform #10, Dec. 4, as a strong storm damaged an underwater high-pressure gas pipeline. As many as 33 people were rescued in an ensuing large-scale operation. The bodies of seven killed were retrieved, while 23 oil workers are still listed as missing.
A working group that includes specialists from Azerbaijan’s Emergency Situations Ministry, Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, SOCAR and BP regularly monitors the sea to detect negative environmental consequences of the fire on the faulty platform #10.
“The monitoring is being held using specially equipped vessels and helicopters,” said SOCAR, adding that up until now, no major oil spill has been detected.
SOCAR said the satellite images obtained by AzerCosmos from Canadian company MDA also confirm the results of the monitoring.
Edited by SI
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