RUSSIAN OIL AND GAS PIPELINES PLAGUED BY ACCIDENTS

A major crude oil pipeline break has been reported near the Russian town of Uvat in western Siberia. The large diameter pipeline involved runs from the big Tyumen province oil center of Nizhnevartovsk to Samara, formerly Kuibyshev, on the Volga River via Kurgan. Moscow's Izvestia newspaper said the resulting fire heavily damaged expensive imported equipment, including pipelaying equipment. The fire required 2 days to extinguish. More than 18,000 bbl of crude were lost.

Feb. 16, 1993

2 min read

A major crude oil pipeline break has been reported near the Russian town of Uvat in western Siberia.

The large diameter pipeline involved runs from the big Tyumen province oil center of Nizhnevartovsk to Samara, formerly Kuibyshev, on the Volga River via Kurgan. Moscow's Izvestia newspaper said the resulting fire heavily damaged expensive imported equipment, including pipelaying equipment.

The fire required 2 days to extinguish. More than 18,000 bbl of crude were lost.

Soon afterward, a crude gathering line broke and caught fire near Nizhnevartovsk. Production from more than 50 wells was shut down.

Izvestia said a bulldozer apparently damaged the trunk line near Uvat. Metal fatigue was blamed for the Nizhnevartovsk accident.

Pipeline breaks "coming one after another" are a serious problem in the entire western Siberian oil region near the Ob River, Izvestia reported. It said a lot of money is needed for pipeline repair and replacement, but funds are not available.

"There is no guarantee that yet another accident won't occur tomorrow," Izvestia warned.

In addition, Russia reports a gas pipeline explosion near the city of Serov in the northern part of western Siberia's Sverdlovsk province. Tass-Itar news agency said there was an enormous leakage of gas and extensive damage to a nearby forest but no human victims.

Gas supplies to industrial enterprises resumed in the Perm region after a day of efforts by repair crews to repair a gas pipeline damaged by an explosion.

The explosion occurred on a section of the main line between Nizhnyaya Tura and Perm. The gas broke out from the pipe through a crack under a pressure of 50 atm and ignited.