Cleaning the Apsheron territories from the oil pollution
By Tofik Gasanov, Imran Abdulov, Ali Saidov.
(based on the information of the “State Oil Company”)
There are approximately 800 oil lakes found in the Apsheron Peninsula. Some
of these lakes emerged as a result of intensive hydrocarbon mining as well as
faulty equipment and pipelines. Oil production in the Apsheron Peninsula
began in the 1860s, but the peak of pollution occurred during the Second
World War, when the oil wells were exploited very intensively. It has been
estimated that about 10 000 hectares of the Apsheron territory are absolutely
worthless. Many of these oil lakes and polluted territories are located near
residential areas and create a potential environmental threat for people.
A clean-up project was set up and managed by the State Oil Company. The
State Oil Company has developed a cleaning system that is currently being
tested on a pilot plot of 1000 hectares at the oldest oil well, Bibi-Aibat. The
estimated cost of the project is USD $1,7 million. The AZ SER Company,
which was awarded the project, has completed the collection of soil samples
and laboratory tests.
The problem of oil-polluted territories has attracted the attention of the media,
scientists and NGOs. They all share the view that cleaning up the polluted
areas in Apsheron will contribute to a radical improvement of the
environmental and will result to the revitalization of soils for planting.