Gazprom became the major partner of an environmental expedition to the Bely Island in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area as part of the Year of Ecology.

The expedition is aimed at clearing the Island from ramshackle structures, derelict equipment, fuel tanks and other industrial wastes. The participants of the environmental campaign will prepare the wastes for transportation to the mainland for further disposal.

Gazprom will take part in financing the summer (main) phase of the project from July 1 to September 11. In particular, the Company will ship tractors, earth movers and other necessary equipment to the Bely Island and back.

Residents of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area, the Republics of Bashkortostan, Tatarstan and Tyva, the Tyumen, Kurgan, Chelyabinsk Regions, the Chukotka Autonomous Area as well as Germany applied for participation in the expedition.

Background

Gazprom is represented in the project by its wholly-owned subsidiary company Gazprom Dobycha Nadym.

The environmental expedition consists of two phases: winter and summer ones.

The Bely Island is located in the Kara Sea and is separated from the Yamal Peninsula by the Malygin Strait. It covers 1,900 square kilometers and is classified as a state nature reserve.

A military base used to be located on the Island. Since the 1930s a polar hydrometeorological station has been deployed there.

In 2012 an environmental expedition already arrived at the Island and removed around 20 per cent of the wastes found on it.

2013 is declared the Year of Ecology in Gazprom. As part of this initiative, the Company will undertake more than 1,200 actions: from the introduction of innovative technologies at gas production and transmission facilities for mitigating environmental impacts to educational campaigns and support to specially protected natural areas.