IRKUTSK, April 8 (RIA Novosti) - A government-sponsored oil pipeline project must be moved away from Lake Baikal, the world's largest fresh water body, the governor of nearby Irkutsk said Saturday.
Alexander Tishanin said Russian pipeline monopoly Transneft estimated that changing the pipeline's route would add $900 million to the project's cost.
"It is 99% certain that there is a real possibility of moving the pipeline away from Baikal," the governor said. It is the responsibility of the regional authorities, scientists, and specialists, to persevere and find an environmentally safe option, Tishanin said.
"Declarations and flag-waving is not the best approach," he said.
The governor said he would attend a protest scheduled for Sunday against the pipeline.
Environmentalists have opposed the $11.5 billion energy project, which will be run by Transneft, over the pipeline's proximity, about 800 meters, to Lake Baikal. Activists have called for the pipeline route to be moved further away from the unique lake, which is on the Unesco World Heritage List.
According to current plans, pipeline will run for about 100 kilometers (62 miles) along the shoreline of the lake. Experts have warned that in the event of an accident, about 3,000 metric tons of oil (about 60 bbl/d) would reach the lake within 20 minutes.
Another concern expressed in the letter is that the area is seismically unstable, which increases the risk of accidents.
The pipeline is expected to pump up to 80 million metric tons a year (1.6 mln of bbl/d) from Siberia to the Russian Far East before being sent on to the Asia-Pacific region to Japan and energy-hungry China. The first stage of the pipeline's construction was initially expected to be completed by the end of 2008.
