Banks| Policies| Dodgy Deals| Campaigns
About us| Blog| Publications| Successes| Contact us| Donate
About BankTrack
Visit us
Organisation
Our team
Our board
Guiding principles
Team up with us
Jobs at BankTrack
Our annual reports
Funding and finances
History
BankTrack in the media
Our privacy policy
Donate
2023-01-23 00:00:00
Berta Cáceres: new rules for banks could help stop defender killings
2023-01-16 00:00:00
In the balance: Why European due diligence legislation must cover financial services
2022-12-08 00:00:00
Exposed: Western banks funding Qatar’s carbon bombs
2022-12-08 00:00:00
Right-wing attack on sustainable finance is the latest form of climate denial
2022-12-14 11:08:26
HSBC announces it will no longer finance new oil and gas fields
2022-10-13 15:56:39
More major banks and insurers refuse to support EACOP
2022-09-16 10:38:48
European Parliament passes emergency resolution against human rights violations & environmental threats linked to EACOP
2022-06-27 09:49:16
Crédit Agricole takes first step to phase out from the oil and gas sector
Connect
2022-11-22 00:00:00
Banking on Thin Ice: Two years in the heat
2022-11-17 00:00:00
BankTrack Global Human Rights Benchmark 2022
2022-10-21 00:00:00
Burning forests in the name of clean energy? How banks are failing to exclude the harmful wood biomass industry from finance
2022-06-28 00:00:00
The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP): Finance Risk Update No. 3
2022-04-05 00:00:00
The BankTrack Human Rights Benchmark Asia
2022-03-30 00:00:00
Banking on Climate Chaos 2022
See all publications
Browse
Home
Banks
Policies
Dodgy Deals
Campaigns
About
About BankTrack
Donate
Contact BankTrack
Publications
Victories
Follow Us
News
BankTrack blog
Facebook
Twitter Fossil Banks No Thanks Twitter Fossil Banks No Thanks Instagram
Affiliate Websites
Fossil Banks No Thanks
StopEACOP
Forests & Finance
Banks & Biodiversity
Drop JBS
Bank of Coal
Don't Buy into Occupation
Home › News
Oil and gas consortium will suspend seismic activities to protect gray whales
Start
Dodgy Deals

By: Pacific Environment
2009-04-24
Geneva, Switzerland

Contact:

Aleksey Knizhnikov, Oil & Gas Environmental Policy Officer, WWF-Russia +79 104280514  AKnizhnikov@wwf.ru

Wendy Elliott, Manager, Species Programme, WWF-International +1 202 465 1650 Welliott@wwfint.org

Doug Norlen, Policy Director, Pacific Environment +1 202 465 1650 dnorlen@pacificenvironment.org


Share this page:

Go to:
Start
Related Dodgy Deals

A major oil and gas consortium has agreed to suspend planned seismic testing off Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East, a crucial feeding area for the critically endangered Western Gray whale.

The decision followed a recommendation today by a major international scientific panel to halt further oil and gas development in and around the feeding area of the Western Gray Whale.

During a meeting of the Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel (WGWAP), Sakhalin Energy - a partnership between Shell, Gasprom and other shareholders - agreed to cancel its proposed 2009 seismic activities, despite having already put plans in place for the work.

The WGWAP, convened by the IUCN and comprising 11 eminent scientists, met this week with representatives of Shell, Sakhalin Energy, Russian government officials, project lenders and environmental NGOs to review the most recent science on the whales.

The Western Gray Whale is one of the world’s most endangered whales, with only about 25 breeding females remaining.  The whale feeds only in the summer, and its crucial primary feeding area is offshore Piltun Bay at the north eastern part of Sakhalin shelf.

New science presented during this week’s meeting revealed a significant decline in sightings and behaviour changes of the whales in their primary feeding area near Piltun Bay. Oil and gas exploration activities in the area appear to have displaced the whales to deeper areas offshore, making it more difficult for whale calves to feed.

Since the Western Gray Whale only feeds in the summertime, such displacement could be devastating.

However, BP, Exxon, Rosneft have ignored repeated calls to cooperate with the panel, which again today called on those companies to urgently follow the example of Sakhalin Energy.

 “WWF lauds the responsible and forward looking approach taken by Sakhalin Energy in heeding this call from the panel,” said Aleksey Knizhnikov from WWF-Russia. “The results seen today demonstrate that collaborative science based initiatives like this panel process can succeed – even on issues as complex as oil and gas development”. 

“However other major operators in the area – including major international giants BP and Exxon - have completely ignored pleas to join the panel, disregarded advice on how to mitigate the impacts of their activities, and refused to provide even basic information on what their activities are in the region.”

“Today’s decision is a victory for the Western Gray Whales, but the struggle continues.  BP, Exxon and Rosneft must abandon their reckless plans that threaten the western gray whales with extinction” said Doug Norlen, from Pacific Environment, an international NGO that has monitored Sakhalin oil and gas projects for over a decade.

Pacific Environment and WWF are both members of BankTrack.

Go to:
Start
Related Dodgy Deals

Related Dodgy Deals

Projects

There are no projects active for this item now.
on record

Sakhalin II oil and gas project Russian Federation

Oil and Gas Extraction

Companies

active

ExxonMobil United States

Oil and Gas Extraction
There are no companies active for this item now.
Browse
Home
Banks
Policies
Dodgy Deals
Campaigns
About
About BankTrack
Donate
Contact BankTrack
Publications
Victories
Follow Us
News
BankTrack blog
Facebook
Twitter Fossil Banks No Thanks Twitter Fossil Banks No Thanks Instagram
Affiliate Websites
Fossil Banks No Thanks
StopEACOP
Forests & Finance
Banks & Biodiversity
Drop JBS
Bank of Coal
Don't Buy into Occupation
Vismarkt 15
6511 VJ Nijmegen
The Netherlands

Tel: +31 24 324 9220
Contact@banktrack.org
©2016 BankTrack                Webdesign by BankTrack and EASYmind
BankTrack is a registered charity in the Netherlands (ANBI) - RSIN 813874658
Find our privacy policy here

Stay up to date

Sign up now for all BankTrack's news


Make a comment

Your comment will be reviewed, before being posted