The pipeline, which the consortium hopes to begin using in 2000, would have a capacity of 67 million tons of oil a year more than double the present flow to Novorossiysk along the old state-built network from which Russia draws little revenue. But it's the oil that never makes it through the pipeline that scares activists the most. In May, about 400 tons of oil gushed from a rupture in a new pipeline near Novorossiysk harbor. Almost a quarter of the oil flowed into the water. The resort beaches down the coast are still dotted with sticky black residue.
Environmental experts are in the middle.
They are wary of the consortium's plans but know that Novorossiysk harbor is beyond capacity and could not handle the wastes from a sharp rise in tanker traffic. Some others see it as a hopeful quest nevertheless. In Soviet times, there was no such thing as public debate on projects like this. Maybe we are witnessing the beginning of an environmental movement.