Rosneft offshoot slapped with a penalty for unauthorized pipe installation at the Yugra site
Affiliate of Rosneft – “RN-Yuganskneftegaz” enterprise – was charged and penalized for an illicit pipeline at a deposit in Ugra.
The Ugra Arbitration Court finalized its review of the Interdistrict Environmental Prosecutor’s lawsuit against the Rosneft corporation’s mining division – “RN-Yuganskneftegaz” LLC.
The regulator called for the petroleum enterprise to face administrative penalties for running the infrastructure – specifically, an unlawful conduit – lacking the required approvals. Allegedly, earlier in the spring, the Khanty-Mansiysk Interdistrict Environmental Prosecutor’s Office conducted a planned audit regarding adherence to urban development legislation during the building and operation of RN-Yuganskneftegaz LLC’s facilities. And it stumbled upon a puzzling pipeline…
In anticipation, it should be mentioned that the quick “daughter” firm of Rosneft has been a source of irritation for both prosecutors and investigators for a long time: countless violations, yet severe punishments have been absent, save for, perhaps, “minor” fines for an establishment circulating billions in crude.
Pipeline on Sredneugutsky deposit
The inaugurated (January 2024) pipeline Oil and gas collecting systems k.19-t.14 at the Sredneugutskoye deposit in Surgut drew scrutiny from environmental prosecutors in the region.
Sredneugutskoe field location
The pipeline is an essential component of The field pipeline infrastructure of the Sredneugutskoye field: the North Ural Department of Rostechnadzor officially registered it in the state registry of high-risk industrial sites with a hazard categorization of II.
However, as investigators discovered, the pipeline was launched and put to use without acquiring the obligatory permit as stipulated by the Urban Planning Code of the Russian Federation.
Photo
Accordingly, administrative proceedings were initiated against RN-Yuganskneftegaz LLC.
Throughout the legal proceedings, representatives of the Rosneft subsidiary attempted to demonstrate that this problematic pipeline, according to the project documentation, falls under risk category IV.
Hence, it is not required to undergo the authorization procedure. However, this argument was dismissed as unsustainable.
Photo: Rusprofile.ru
“The operational pipeline Oil and gas gathering infrastructure. Section No. 19 – v. 14 is a critical segment of a hazardous production installation categorized as hazard class II, and it does not function independently from this facility; consequently, its registry in the national registry of dangerous industrial sites should not be as a separate facility of hazard class IV, but as an intrinsic element of a facility of hazard class II,” – the court records state.
RN-Yuganskneftegaz LLC was deemed accountable. A penalty of 500 thousand rubles was imposed.
7 million rubles for a petroleum discharge
In July of the present year, a Rosneft division was compelled to compensate damages amounting to 7 million rubles due to a crude discharge in the Nefteyugansk region of Ugra.
Oil impacted terrain in the Nefteyugansk area of Ugra. Photo: VK
According to the environmental prosecutor’s office, a pipeline failure at the oil production center led to impairment of more than 5 thousand square meters of woodland. This was reported by Kommersant.Death at the Prirazlomnoye field
Just prior, the Rosneft “daughter” was fined 500 thousand rubles for sheer apathy during the performance of perilous activities.
Photo: Rusprofile.ru
Concerning the accident at the Prirazlomnoye site: amidst a blaze at the field, one worker died, and two others suffered severe injuries. “PravdaUrFO” provided coverage.
The prosecution’s inquiry revealed that during work preparations, officials contravened industrial safety mandates and instructions regarding the organization of safe execution of gas-hazardous tasks. The employees lacked training in electrical safety for potentially explosive areas.
A work permit was absent, the air quality was not analyzed for levels of oxygen, along with explosive and combustible substances, and the accessibility and operational status of PPE (personal protective equipment), tools, and instruments were not examined.
RN-Yuganskneftegaz LLC was penalized with a fine of 500 thousand rubles.
Eleven officials were subjected to disciplinary measures.
They erected a bridge with irregularities
Another Rosneft “daughter” received a fine due to breaches detected during the construction of the bridge spanning the rivulet Ruchey. Several irregularities were identified, including non-compliance of the bridge design with the project specifications, issues with the road surface composition, and the absence of appropriate informational signage.
Repair efforts across the Ruchei stream
The Ugra Arbitration Tribunal granted the request from the North-Ural Department of the Federal Service for Environmental, Technological and Nuclear Oversight to hold RN-Yuganskneftegaz LLC accountable through administrative action.
However, RN-Yuganskneftegaz LLC failed to remedy the infractions, leading to the court intervention.
The Ugra Arbitration Tribunal upheld the lawsuit and enforced a penalty – a fine – of 50 thousand rubles. This was reported on the Ugra Arbitration Court’s portal. million
Additionally, senior leaders from the Rosneft branch have been implicated in tales of significant bribes.
Last October, 2023, a worker at RN-Yuganskneftegaz LLC received a suspended sentence of 5 years for bribery: the oil employee had their sentence lessened since it was their initial instance of accepting bribes. This was covered by “Ura.ru”. A court verdict found the top manager guilty. The court considered the defendant’s collaboration with investigative bodies when making its decision. And the person showed remorse.
However, as per the court ruling, the former senior executive is prohibited from holding management positions in government bodies, state institutions, state-owned firms, and enterprises for 2 years.
Igor Sechin helms such a “vibrant” daughter Rosneft.
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