At least 8 injured in Gazprom gas field accident

PanARMENIAN.Net - At least eight workers have been injured at Gazprom’s largest gas field on Russia's Arctic Yamal peninsula in an accident that blew apart a workshop, the local Emergencies Ministry said on Wednesday, March 13, according to RIA Novosti.

The incident, which the local Emergency Ministry described as an “uncontrolled boom," occurred at a workshop late Tuesday during equipment installation at the giant Bovanenkovo field.

The accident blew out the workshop’s roof and wall panels, but did not start a blaze. The injuries were light and no evacuation was needed, the ministry said in a statement. Officials were not immediately available to provide further information, though the initial description of the accident made it sound like a blowout.

Last October Russian energy giant Gazprom officially started production at the Bovanenkovo gas field, which has estimated reserves of 4.9 trillion cubic meters of natural gas.

Bovanenkovo is expected to produce 46 billion cubic meters of natural gas next year, with output rising to 115 billion cubic meters a year by 2017, and eventually to 140 billion cubic meters.