An oil spill was identified in the vicinity of the Kashagan oil field in the Caspian Sea. Galina Chernova, the Executive Director of the "Globus" Center for Eco-Legal Initiatives, shared this information. According to satellite monitoring data, on March 30th, an oil spill was observed near the Kashagan oil field in the Caspian Sea. The monitoring group noted the spill on the radar image of the European satellite Sentinel-1A.
Possible causes mentioned by experts include accidental or emergency oil leakage during extraction, discharge of production water containing oil products that should be treated and transported ashore for disposal, or a potential accident involving servicing vessels that led to the spill. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources responded to the statement, mentioning that the Ecology Department in the Atyrau region will conduct a sea inspection for visual assessment and sample collection at the oil extraction site.
If the facts are confirmed, an unscheduled inspection of the NCOC company will be carried out by the Ecology Department in the Atyrau region. Additional information on the inspection results will be provided later. It was reported on March 30, 2024, that the NCOC company had paid a substantial fine for violating environmental regulations. In 2022, an environmental inspection revealed violations at the NCOC marine complex, including burning sulfur gas without environmental permits and discharging production water into the Caspian Sea without proper treatment.
