Court orders CPC suspension for 30 days over environ violation

MOSCOW, Jul 6 (PRIME) -- A Novorossiysk district court has ordered Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) to suspend operations for 30 days because of environmental violations, a spokesperson for the company told PRIME late on Tuesday.

In May, the Southern department of the Federal Service for Transport Oversight conducted an inspection at CPC, initiated by Deputy Prime Minister Victoria Abramchenko, and uncovered a number of "documentary violations of the plan for liquidation of emergency oil spills.” The watchdog issued an order to eliminate the violations by November 30.

The CPC spokesperson said that “despite the due date is November 30, 2022, the Southern department… has applied to … court asking to suspend activities for 90 days.” The court partially satisfied the watchdog’s demand and “inflicted a penalty in the form of administrative suspension of activities for 30 days,” the person said.

CPC has to fulfill the court’s decision, but plans to challenge it, the person said.

The multinational company pumps oil from the west of Kazakhstan to a terminal at the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. The consortium’s largest shareholders are Russia with 31%, Kazakhstan with 20.75% and Chevron Caspian Pipeline Consortium Company with 15%.

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