MOSCOW, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Moscow is preparing draft regulation that spells out how companies would handle the fallout from an oil spill on the arctic continental shelf, a minister said.
The World Wide Fund for Nature, an environmental advocacy group, said the oil spill in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico raises alarm about the possibility of exploring the arctic for oil and gas. The WWF said it was renewing its call for a moratorium on oil and gas development in the arctic until environmental risks are better understood.
Sergei Donskoi, the deputy natural resources minister for Russia, said authorities were examining environmental protection measures for the arctic when considering developments on the continental shelf, Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti reports.
"The disaster in the Gulf of Mexico once again highlighted nature's vulnerability from humans," he said. "In the extreme environment of the arctic with its permanent glaciers, even smaller disasters could lead to serious problems."
Donskoi said his ministry was preparing draft regulation that spells out how the marine environment would be protected from oil contamination. The draft outlines financial liabilities companies would incur in the event of an oil spill in the arctic.
The deputy minister said in 2009 that Moscow needed more than $300 billion to study possible development of its continental shelf.
