Programs
Oil and Gas Exploration in KamchatkaNews & Program Updates
March - April, 2006
In late 2005 the Korean National Oil Company (KNOC) and Rosneft (Russian Oil Company) formed a joint venture, the West Kamchatka Holding Company, to begin oil and gas exploration in the Sea of Okhostk, one of the world's richest producers of salmon and hundreds of other aquatic species. The area under exploration is roughly 60,000 square kilometers, and its oil and gas deposits are estimated to be some of the world's largest. KNOC has also acquired a share in exploration licenses held by a Canadian company, CEP International Petroleum, to survey onshore sites. CEP's onshore exploration licenses cover 6,424 square kilometers, and include areas of the pristine Tigil and Icha Rivers.
Clearly, oil and gas extraction could be devastating to the Peninsula's salmon rivers. It will be very important to address this encroaching threat now, before drilling begins. One key approach we will take in the face of accelerating exploration is mapping aquatic and terrestrial salmon primary production zones. Zone mapping is critical to ensuring that primary fishery production areas are not compromised by oil and gas development. Additionally, Wild Salmon Center and World Wildlife Fund will work together to combine marine and freshwater maps of salmon habitat and biodiversity. These maps will be used to educate key audiences, draw international attention to threats to wild salmon habitat, and build support for securing special fisheries protection for these areas before major development projects begin.
If and when oil and gas drilling does begin (the exploration stage is estimated to take two-and-a-half years), WSC will collaborate with local organizations, academics, regional government and the oil companies to recommend best practices so that development projects are in compliance with international standards and have the lowest possible impact on salmon habitat.