On 6 September 2018, Caspian Pipeline Consortium and Krasnodar Krai General Authority of the RF Emergencies Ministry conducted a comprehensive joint oil spill response drill on the bank of the Kuban river in the Abinsky District of the Krasnodar Krai, where 150 persons and more than 50 special vehicles and equipment were involved.
According to the drill scenario, at 10:00 Moscow time SCADA indicated steady pressure drop in the trunk oil pipeline near the Kuban river crossing.
A CPC Novorossiysk OCC dispatcher shut down conventionally the pump stations, isolated the emergency segment by closing the ball valves at the two valve sites and reported the occurrence to the CPC-R Management pursuant to the notification plan. A pipeline security patrol and a standby ERS vehicle were sent to the “emergency” site, where, upon arrival, they found a 7200 m² onshore oil spill and three “slicks” in the river of 1800 m² total area. Pursuant to the notification procedure, the occurrence was reported to the Emergencies Ministry, Rostekhnadzor, Rosprirodnadzor, local authorities and other organizations.
As stipulated by the drill scenario, the spilt oil ignited, causing a threat of fire spreading towards the nearest residential area. “Evacuation” of local population commenced. At the same time, Consortium ERS personnel started deploying OSR equipment.
In the course of the drill, OSR actions were practised: installation of three boom lines, collection of oil from water surface using oil skimmers, collection of contaminated soil by mechanized and manual methods, use of sorbent spray backpacks. Temporary tanks were deployed to receive the collected oil. Laboratory specialists took soil samples and performed their express analysis for oil and oil products content. Also, ERS personnel practiced the procedures of oil pipeline integrity recovery.
According to the script, a fireman got injured when extinguishing the fire and was promptly delivered to the Krasnodar Burn Center. Besides, when installing booms in the Kuban river, two persons “fell” into the water and were rescued by the AO TsASEO team.
The drill was highly praised by the supervisory authorities which noted good and prompt interaction of all participants, availability of all required manpower and resources. Such large-scale drills are a regular feature with CPC, allowing to assess readiness of CPC Operations, ER contractors, repair, security and dispatch staff for abnormal situations.
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The CPC pipeline system is one of the largest investment projects with foreign capital in the energy sector in the CIS. The length of Tengiz-Novorossiysk pipeline is 1,511 km; more than two thirds of all export crude oil from Kazakhstan and crude oil from the Russian fields, including those in the Caspian Region, are transported by this route. CPC Marine Terminal is equipped with three Single Point Moorings (SPM) that allow to load tankers safely at a significant distance offshore, also in poor weather conditions.
CPC Shareholders: Russian Federation (represented by Transneft – 24% and CPC Company – 7%) – 31%; Republic of Kazakhstan (represented by Kazmunaygaz – 19% and Kazakhstan Pipeline Ventures LLC – 1.75%) – 20.75%; Chevron Caspian Pipeline Consortium Company - 15%, LUKARCO B.V. - 12.5%, Mobil Caspian Pipeline Company – 7.5%, Rosneft-Shell Caspian Ventures Limited – 7.5%, BG Overseas Holding Limited - 2%, Eni International N.A. N.V. - 2% and Oryx Caspian Pipeline LLC – 1.75%.