LUKoil slapped with biggest oil spill fine in Russia’s historyJanuary 11, 2014 - 10:51 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A subsidiary of the Russian oil giant LUKoil has been slapped with a fine of 614 million rubles ($18.5 million), which Greenpeace said appeared to be the biggest such fine in Russia’s history, RIA Novosti reports. LUKoil-Komi was fined for nine oil spills from 2011 in Russia’s northern republic of Komi, according to documents available on the republic’s arbitration court website. The spills covered an area estimated between 20.5 and 21 hectares of land in the province. . Greenpeace said on its website the oil company intended to appeal. It also said LUKoil faced a separate lawsuit for 96 million rubles ($2.9 million) from the republic’s forestry committee. The privately-owned LUKoil-Komi spent 15 million rubles ($450,000) on recultivating the polluted land, but the court ruled it to be an insufficient measure. The fine was the biggest of its kind in Greenpeace’s experience, and apparently the biggest in the post-Soviet history of Russia’s oil industry, a spokeswoman for Greenpeace Russia said. The previous record was made in 2012, when several companies were slapped by a Russian court with a combined fine of 503 million rubles ($15.1 million) over a tanker that spilled 1,200 tons of fuel oil in the Black Sea during a storm in 2007. Related links: Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. Aliyev says no need for mediators in Armenia-Azerbaijan process Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes that Baku and Yerevan do not mediators in the process of normalizing relations. Aram I supports Karekin II’s “patriotic position” Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I has expressed support for the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. |