--> Environmental Assessment of Oil and Gas Ventures in the Former Soviet Union, by B. H. Metzger; #90986 (1994).

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Abstract: Environmental Assessment of Oil and Gas Ventures in the Former Soviet Union

Bernhard H. Metzger

In the past, the Soviet Union drew heavily upon its wealth of natural resources including oil and gas. Now those natural resources have attracted the attention of many foreign companies. Some petroleum companies have already begun oil and gas production in the former Soviet Union (FSU). Others are involved in complex negotiations. As they negotiate with authorities in Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and other areas, Western companies are discovering that their prospective partners in the former Soviet Union seek the best in Western technology, business management, and environmental practices. The situations in which environmental requirements and issues come into play in the FSU are familiar. First, companies that buy into existing operations should conduct a baseline site assessment o determine existing environmental liabilities. In the FSU, owner liability for existing contamination is an area full of legal ambiguities and financial risk. Westerners are struck, for example, by the environmental devastation that surrounds oil fields in western Siberia. Second, companies that plan to start new operations need to conduct an environmental impact assessment (EIA). The EIA process in the FSU is new and relatively untested. A surprisingly large number of EIAs are rejected for various reasons. Understanding the role of environmental assessments in the former Soviet Union is key to successful entry into this market.

Arthur D. Little's insights were gained while conducting environmental assessments in the FSU. Case examples that will be discussed include the assessment of a giant gas-condensate field in Kazakhstan carried out on behalf of a joint venture by British Gas and Agip.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90986©1994 AAPG Annual Convention, Denver, Colorado, June 12-15, 1994