논의가 필요한 것 같습니다.
Dear Korean Colleagues,
I hope you received my message and had time to look at the report. The Russian media published many articles about possibility of Korean banks financing the pacific Oil Pipeline. Please let us know, if you can be of assistance in this matter.
Best wishes,
Michiel
—– Original Message —–
From: Tigris Foundation
To: COAºCy ; YoungJun Kim ; leeyj@greenkorea.org ; greenkorea@greenkorea.org
Cc: Phoenix
Sent: Monday, November 21, 2005 12:03 PM
Subject: Oil Pipeline terminal in Amur leopard habitat
Dear Korean Colleagues,
You know that Putin and Primorsky Krai governor Mr. Darkin visited the APEC conference in South Korea. They asked the Korean government, Korean banks and Korean companies to help with the Siberia-Pacific Oil Pipeline Project. The Korean government and banks can help to provide money for the project, and Korean companies can help to build the pipeline and terminal.
Greenpeace, WWF, IFAW, Phoenix Fund and Tigris Foundation wrote a report about the pipeline. The report explains about the damage to nature and the economy that will be done if the terminal of the pipeline is built on the Amur Bay in the habitat of the Amur leopard. You can download this report on the homepage of the Tigris Foundation www.tigrisfoundation.nl .
The NGOs that wrote the report have contacted the western and Japanese banks and companies that do business with the Russian pipeline company “Transneft”. We tell them that they should not not help Transneft with this pipeline project. Because the pipeline is very bad for nature, but also because the project has many financial risks. We believe that this was successful. Now it is difficult for Transneft to find western and Japanese banks that want to give money for the project. So now Transneft needs money from Korea.
I hope you can help to warn Korean banks and companies about the very large financial risks of the project. Transneft wants to build the terminal in the Amur leopard habitat, because there are no other large companies that work here. But it is much better to build the terminal near Nakhodka. Nakhodka is Primorsky Krai’s largest port. It is an industrialised area and there are already oil terminals in Nakhodka. So it is a much better location for the terminal. But Transneft does not own the companies in Nakhodka. Transneft president and management will not be able to get part of the profit from the terminal, if it is built in Nakhodka. That is why they want to built it in the habitat of the leopard. But the the location in Amur leopard habitat is not suitable for a terminal. It is very dangerous for oil tankers to travel to this location. If the terminal will be built on the Amur Bay in Amur leoparid habitat, then the risk of an oil spill from a tanker ship in sea will be 17 times larger, than if the terminal is built at Nakhodka. So the project is very riskful. A disaster as big as the Exxon Valdez oil spill will happen 1 time every 20 years!! But Korean banks and companies do not know this. They also do not know about the Amur leopard that lives near the proposed terminal location!!!
So please send our report to banks, government officials and to Korean companies. The report has very interesting and very useful information for them. So you are very much helping the companies when you send them the report!!! (The western banks liked it very much that we send them this report and warned them about the risks!).
Below I have explained why this project has many financial risks.
Please let me know if you can help with sending the report to the Korean government, banks and companies.
Best wishes,
Michiel Hötte
– Zoological Society of London / Tigris Foundation
– Amur Leopard and Tiger Alliance (ALTA)
phone: +31-20-6206274 (Amsterdam, Holland)
mhotte@inter.nl.net / www.tigrisfoundation.nl
————
The Siberia-Pacific Pipeline Project has ery large ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS:
The pipeline will run at no more than 800 meters from Lake Baikal. Transneft wants to build the pipeline oil terminal at Perevoznaya on the Amur Bay close to Vladivostok. Lake Baikal is Russia’s most famous nature reserve and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The region near Lake Baikal is seismologic very active and this increases the risk of pipeline ruptures. Oil spilled near Lake Baikal can not be removed in time before it reaches the lake.
The terminal at Perevoznaya will threaten 15% of Russia endangered species, including the Amur leopard. There are only 35 Amur leopards in the wild, it is probably the world’s rarest cat. The tanker route to the terminal is very close to Russia’s only marine nature reserve.
The terminal site Perevoznaya is not suitable: the Amur Bay is open, shallow and the terminal will need to be built 2 km offshore. Tankers will be exposed to storms and high waves at the terminal. Tankers will have to travel passing many small islands and shallow spots when they go to and from the terminal. As a result the risk of accidents resulting in major oil spills is 17 times higher than if an alternative location is selected near Nakhodka, the region’s largest port, where oil terminals already exist. However, Transneft does not want to build the pipeline to Nakhodka, allegedly because Transneft does not control the local oil transfer business in this town.
This leads to very large FINANCIAL RISKS:
If an accident happens near Lake Baikal or near the terminal, then the use of the pipeline and terminal will become unacceptable. This will create big problems for transport of oil with the pipeline, and this will create very large financial problems for this pipeline project.
Transneft will have to pay much money (damage claims) if oil accidents happen near lake Baikal or in the Amur Bay.
Because of the ecological and financial risks, the project can not receive “soft loans” from western and Japanese public banks, unless the route is changed at Lake Baikal and a different terminal location is selected.
The pipeline project is also not acceptable for western private banks, because these banks do not give money to projects that do very much damage to nature and the environment. As a result Transneft will not receive money from western banks.
The negative publicity in international newspapers about the pipeline project is damaging Transneft international reputation. As a result, private banks now risk damaging their reputation if they do business with Transneft.
The high costs of oil transports from west Siberia to the Sea of Japan (4200-km) via the pipeline (and by rail) make oil transport to the Russian Far East unattractive.
Experts think that oil production can not increase enough to fill the pipeline.
