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.