For almost a week, Surgutneftegaz hid the oil spill at the Yuzhno-Talakanskoye field. The accident at the field in the village of Vitim occurred on 10 May.
Soon after the accident, local residents began writing on social networks about the oil spill and posting photos and videos posted by Yakut telegram channels.
The Republican Ministry of Environment turned to Surgutneftegaz on 12 May to clarify what happened. The company responded that there was no oil spill.
“The joint-stock company reported that as of 13 May 2024, there were no oil spills at site No. 11 of the Yuzhno-Talakanskoye field,” the ministry wrote.
On 15 May, only environmentalists were allowed to inspect the field but for the sake of “official safety,” they were not allowed to come closer than 300 metres to the well. From this distance, experts saw “only the edge of the darkened forest.” To prevent contamination of the reservoirs adjacent to the field, ministry specialists installed special barriers to prevent oil spills.
“Surgutneftegas” assures that the oil spill is localized within the boundaries of the land allocation, and “based on the results of the control and supervisory inspection, the types of violations will be established and a legal assessment will be given.”
Сибирь-реалии
