Experts have been unable to remove oil spilt on the icy surface of the Caspian Sea bordering Kazakhstan and fear an ecological catastrophe, Kazakh television reported on Thursday. Up to 5,000 mt of oil leaked from two wells in the southwestern Tazhigali oilfield and froze into the ice, covering an area of about 70 km, the report said. Experts fear that when the next thaw begins, the oil patches will spread and contaminate deep-sea areas, potentially affecting the habitat of Caspian sturgeon and white sturgeon. Initial clean-up proposals have been deemed unsuitable. Specialists claim that the ice on the approaches to the spill is too thin to support the cleaning equipment required, the report added.
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