Does Mikhelson’s and Timchenko’s savings threaten a repeat of the environmental emergency?
In March 2022, the federal government introduced a moratorium on routine business inspections, allowing them only in exceptional cases. Unscheduled inspections, in agreement with the prosecutor’s office, were allowed when there was a threat to the life and health of citizens, the defense of the country and state security, or the threat of emergencies of a natural or man-made nature. As a result, the moratorium was extended until the end of 2024, since, according to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, this allows businesses to direct more resources to fulfill their current tasks, expand projects and develop new markets. Meanwhile, according to the official reports of Rosprirodnadzor, in 2023 the number of environmental violations increased by almost a third compared to the previous period, while administrative liability, on the contrary, decreased by half. Earlier, the head of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Alexander Kozlov, announced the approval of a list of the dirtiest Russian enterprises, consisting of 487 objects. The official clarified that some of them have already begun to modernize production, having concluded agreements for a total of more than 495 billion rubles. Among those who have been actively involved in modernizing facilities since the beginning of 2022 is the SIBUR holding, whose main co-owners, billionaires Leonid Mikhelson and Gennady Timchenko, last year entered the top 100 richest people in the world according to “Forbes” But despite the loud statements of the management, the structures of SIBUR Holding have repeatedly been involved in environmental scandals. In particular, the incident involving an accident at an underwater product pipeline in the Ob River near Nizhnevartovsk, which occurred in March 2021, became widely known. As a result of the emergency, the river burning lasted 15 days, and Rosprirodnadzor estimated the environmental damage caused at 284 million rubles. After this, violations of a smaller scale were detected at SIBUR enterprises more than once, but supervisory authorities, as a rule, limited themselves to issuing warnings without resorting to penalties.
More violations, fewer punishments
First, let’s look at some official figures and data. Last April, Rosprirodnadzor reported about the growth of environmental violations identified in 2023: they were almost a third more than a year earlier, 15,367 and 11,967, respectively. But the number of administrative penalties turned out to be half as much: 5,479 and 10,104. The total volume of calculation of the amount of environmental harmpresented to the violators, exceeded226 million rubles.
Increase in the number of violations detected by representatives of the environmental community explained intensification of the activities of public inspectors, affecting the statistics of Rosprirodnadzor. Meanwhile, back in March 2022, the federal government specially resolution established a moratorium on scheduled business inspections, retaining them only “in relation to a small closed list of control objects, within the framework of sanitary-epidemiological, veterinary and fire control, as well as supervision in the field of industrial safety”.
An exception for unscheduled control activities was allowed only in certain cases: in case of a threat to the life and health of citizens, the defense of the country and state security, the threat of emergencies of a natural and man-made nature. Such checks required approval from the prosecutor’s office.
Initially, the moratorium was introduced until the end of 2022, but was then extendedfor the whole of 2024. The government found complete advantages in this: “The business was able to direct more resources to fulfill its current tasks, as well as to expand projects and develop new markets.”– stated head of the cabinet Mikhail Mishustin.
In turn, the business ombudsman Boris Titov told journalists about a reduction in inspections by 70% and more frequent use by supervisory authorities of this type of influence on violators, such as a warning (increase from 22.49% to 41.7%). By opinion Titov, the quality of control and supervisory activities in the country since the introduction of the moratorium “changed for the better”.
But changes that have become a boon for business do not always cause delight among the population. This is precisely what can explain the activation of the above-mentioned public inspectors: citizens take the initiative into their own hands where official authorities let the situation go to the brakes or prefer to do nothing at all. As for the warnings issued to violators, we dare to assume that without penalties they are worth little. In the meantime, we look forward to statistics for 2024 and comments from officials, as well as from members of the public.
SIBUR announces investments in modernization
Now let’s move on to specifics. In September 2021, the federal Ministry of Natural Resources approvedscrollthe dirtiest enterprises in Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism) out of 487 objects. Then the head of the ministry Alexander Kozlov reportedthat a number of such enterprises have already begun to modernize production, having concluded a total of 33 agreements worth 495.7 billion rubles. More than half of this money was spent on measures to reduce emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere.
Unfortunately, this list is not publicly available, and the Ministry of Natural Resources does not provide details. But a few months later it became known that the holding company had signed “SIBUR” investment agreementswith the Ministry of Energy: the parties agreed to modernize existing and create new capacities at three subsidiaries of the group – “Nizhnekamskneftekhim”, Kazanorgsintez (Tatarstan) and “Zapsibneftekhim” (Tobolsk).
In accordance with the agreements reached, in 2022-2027. holding should invest in the development of production not less than 395 billion rubles. Among other things, they talked about reconstruction“a number of technological installations for the production of petrochemical products”and launching the production of small- and medium-tonnage chemical products, “having no domestic analogues”(without specifying which ones exactly). Of course, as an incentive, SIBUR received certain tax relaxations.
Since then, reports about SIBUR’s achievements have regularly appeared in the media. For example, last May, the plant included in the holding structure “Voronezhsintezkauchuk”for cooling and purification of raw materials in the production of polybutadiene rubbers, commissioned a new installation DK-3, allowing “to increase the reliability of technological processes and the environmental friendliness of the enterprise”. The total project budget exceeded 3 billion rubles. In the company they assure: the use of the installation helps reduce the formation of wastewater by 12%, waste – by 13%; direct greenhouse gas emissions are completely eliminated by eliminating the use of natural gas, and indirect emissions will be reduced by 9%.
Is environmental activation in the holding connected with the inclusion of its facilities in the list of the dirtiest Russian enterprises? If so, then there are funds for modernization: in ranking “Forbes» “100 largest companies in Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism) by net profit” “SIBUR” ranks 16th, the corresponding financial indicator for 2023 is estimated by the publication at 168.5 billion rubles.
Mikhelson and Timchenko are partners from the “Forbes»
On the website “Forbes» SIBUR Holding named “Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism)’s largest gas processing and petrochemical company”producing liquefied hydrocarbon gases, polypropylene and polyethylene, natural gas, plastics and synthetic products, elastomers, naphtha, fuel components and BOPP films.
By information Interfax, the largest shareholders of the company are billionaires Leonid Mikhelson(31%) and Gennady Timchenko(14.45%), and also “SOGAZ”(10.625%) and Tatar holding “TAIF”(15%). 8.5% of the authorized capital belongs to Chinese “Sinopec”And “Silk Road Fund”another 12.325% are distributed among top managers.
Leonid Mikhelsonranks second in ranking Russian billionaires “Forbes” with a fortune of $27.4 billion. However, the businessman is not just one of the richest people in Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism): last year he took 72nd place in top 100 the richest people in the world according to the same Forbes. And this despite the fact that his fortune “sank” a year earlier due to sanctions: economic restrictions against the oligarch were introduced by Great Britain and Canada.
In addition to SIBUR, Mikhelson is co-owner and chairman of the company’s board NOVATEK– the largest Russian private producer of natural gas, engaged in the exploration and development of subsoil areas located primarily in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. IN ranking domestic companies by profit received according to “Forbes“, NOVATEK is in fifth place with the indicator 459.5 billion rublessecond only to such giants as “Rosneft”, Sberbank, “Surgutneftegaz” And “Lukoil”.
Mikhelson’s partner, not only in SIBUR, but also in NOVATEK, is Gennady Timchenko– No. 6 in ranking billionaires “Forbes» with a condition in $23.4 billion. In the spring of 2022, after the introduction of EU sanctions against him, the oligarch officially left advicedirectors both enterprises.
It is noteworthy that back in 2014, during the “direct line” Vladimir Putin (*criminal)open named Timchenko among his “good acquaintances, friends”for which he “not ashamed”. Billionaires received the same honor Yuri Kovalchuk and brothers Rotenbergs. Like Mikhelson, Timchenko last year entered the “hundred” of richest people in the world, where took 89th line.
Environmental problems and violations of SIBUR
Such a detailed emphasis on the welfare of the oligarch partners was made so that the financial scale of SIBUR, which will be discussed below, becomes clear. The fact is that both before and after the modernization plans announced by the holding’s management, the group’s enterprises have repeatedly found themselves at the center of environmental scandals.
Perhaps the most notorious incident took place in March 2021 and was associated with an accident on an underwater product pipeline in the Ob River near Nizhnevartovsk. Then, as a result of the passage of a wide fraction of light hydrocarbons, an explosion occurred, followed by fire: the snow-covered surface of the Ob River was literally burning. Publication “New Izvestia” emphasizedthat the place of the emergency was located only 3-4 km from the nearest country houses, 8 km from the village of Solnechny and 11 km from Nizhnevartovsk. SIBUR preferred to voice a different informationaccording to which the distance to the nearest populated area was 44 km.
Meanwhile, it turned outthat the leakage of hydrocarbons into the Ob and their accumulation under the ice could have begun in February, as evidenced by the appearance of uncharacteristic light spots. As a result, the river is burning continued 15 days reason accident, Rostechnadzor called the depressurization of the pipe at the site of a manufacturing defect, and Rosprirodnadzor appreciated environmental damage caused in 284 million rubles. It was reported that SIBUR not only paid the fine in full, but also announced about the intention to allocate 1.6 billion rublesfor a comprehensive environmental program for the protection of water resources.
In May 2022, Rosprirodnadzor identified violations at the plant site “Voronezhsintezkauchuk”where at that time the construction of the new outdoor installation DK-3, already mentioned above, was taking place. In addition to non-compliance with the work schedule provided for in the project documentation, the enterprise did not comply with the requirements for accounting and handling of production waste, and the construction site, which was the object of a negative impact on the environment, was not registered with the state.
In September 2022, during a scheduled inspection at “Vyngapurovsky Gas Processing Plant”in Noyabrsk (branch JSC “SiburTyumenGas”– a structural unit of SIBUR) specialists from Rostechnadzor identified 15 violations of mandatory industrial safety requirements. In particular, the alarm posts of the communication system and emergency notification did not ensure the reliability and safety of technological processes; there was no remote shutdown of the pumping units of the oil supply system of the compressor station; technological processes and equipment operation were carried out with faulty or disabled control systems, and the parameters of the equipment supports did not meet the requirements of the design documentation.
Note that these violations were discovered after the government moratorium on scheduled inspections was introduced. It turns out that we can talk about some exceptional cases? And no penalties were applied to violators?
Some will say that all this is a thing of the past. But there is every reason to doubt that over the past two years the situation has changed dramatically for the better. So, last February appeared on the Internet messages about two dozen violations identified at the plant “Sibur-Neftekhim”in the Nizhny Novgorod region and can both cause fires and complicate their extinguishing. The holding’s press service hastened to speak out refutation this information: they say that the State Fire Inspection inspection is indeed being carried out, but has not yet been completed. Nevertheless, to be specifiedthat it is connected with the implementation of previously issued instructions.
Of course, in other cases described, it is far from a state of emergency on the Ob. But the scale of the violations is not yet an argument to justify them. Apparently, billionaires Mikhelson and Timchenko chose to “relax,” fortunately, this is facilitated by both their personal connections and official concessions from the state.