Sachalin

Just off the coast of the island Sachalin, in the extreme north east of Russia, lie the largest still untapped sources of oil and gas in the world. The amount of oil is estimated at 13 billion barrels (one barrel equals 159 litres). Already in process of exploitation are the oil and gas fields Sachalin-1 to Sachalin-6. They are drawing the big investors among the oil multis to Russia. Exxon-Mobil, Chevron-Texaco, BP and Royal Dutch/Shell have formed syndicates with other companies. Yuzhno-Sachalinsk, the capital of the island, has turned into a boomtown. "This year we are spending 100 US dollars per second” says David J. Greer, the operational boss of Shell on Sachalin.

The ones who are suffering under this development are the indigenous peoples of Sachalin, the Nivki, Nanai, Oroks, Orochs and Evenks. They are traditionally fisher folk and reindeer breeders. They rely therefore on an intact environment. Their interests have so far been overridden, and attempts on the part of the association of the indigenous peoples of Sachalin and the umbrella organisation of the indigenous peoples of Siberia RAIPON to conduct talks on the matter of increased participation together with the firms and the local authorities failed in December 2004. The indigenous people decided therefore to draw attention to their situation by carrying out non-violent sit-ins at the pipeline construction sites on 20th January 2005.

The Background

It was in the sixties and seventies that the oil and gas industry first became important in the District of Nogliki on Sachalin. Since the end of the eighties however the oil resources on land have begun to dry up. 25 million tons of oil were pumped out here. Now new reserves of oil and gas have been discovered off the coast. The various project stages are named like the oil and gas fields Sachalin-1 to Sachalin-6. They have been drawn in on the nautical maps as

if with a ruler.

Sachalin-1 alone consumes investments of 12 billion dollars. The American oil multi Exxon-Mobil heads a consortium with 30% of the shares, the others being the Japanese Sadeco (30%), the Russian Gasprom (previously Rosneft) and the Indian India’s Oil & Natural Gas Crop (20% each). Exxon-Mobil announced in August 2004 that the test drillings in the Chayvo Field, which belongs to Sachalin-1, had been completed successfully. Here alone there is the expectation of 2,3 billion barrels of oil and 480 billion cubic metres of gas. The consortium is planning to begin pumping oil this year. But a 200 km pipeline will have to be built so that the oil can flow.

Sachalin-2

At present the protest on the part of the indigenous people is being directed mainly at Sachalin-2. Here the largest owner is Royal Dutch/Shell with a share of 55%. Shell founded the "Sachalin Energy Investment Company” (SEIC) in 1998 together with the Japanese firms Mitsubishi and Mitsui. Ten billion dollars have so far been invested in Sachalin-2. This consortium came to an agreement with the Russian government on profit sharing ("˜Production Sharing Agreement "). In this agreement the share of profit guaranteed to Shell is unusually large. The project is financed by the US American Overseas Private Investment Company (OPIC), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

The drilling rig Molikpaq was built directly off the north-west coast of Sachalin. It constitutes a considerable danger for the marine environment. The off-shore waters, the bays, and the reindeer pastures and also the rich stocks of salmon and a small group of grey whales are threatened. A leak in the pipelines or damage caused to the oil rig by an earthquake would be a catastrophe not only for the environment, but also for the people whose lives depend on it.

In 1999 already the oil drillings on Sachalin had noticeable effects: fishermen discovered in June 900 tons of dead herring floating in the sea. Shell made an official denial of any responsibility for the mass dying of the fish, but scientists found oil and heavy metals in the bodies of most of the dead fish (pacificenvironment.org). People living in the vicinity, like the indigenous minority of the Nivki, discovered changes in the environment. The number of seals decreased suddenly and many animals were found dead. Birds which normally lived off plankton suddenly began to eat land insects. Many fish were poisoned and smelt strongly of oil. But these are still being eaten by poor local people who cannot afford to buy other food. The decrease in the fish reserves and the drop in the importance of fishery on Sachalin have direct consequences for Russia as well. Half of all the fish and shellfish consumed in Russia comes from here.

The consortium of Shell, Mitsubishi and Mitsui is planning to expand the Sachalin-2 project very considerably. The second phase of the project involves the construction of two new oil and gas platforms in the north of Sachalin and building two 800 km long pipelines which will traverse the whole island. Ten billion dollars have been set aside for this purpose. The pipelines are to link the existing and planned additional drilling rigs in the northeast of the island with a port in the south near the capital Juzhno-Sachalinsk, from where oil and gas are to be delivered to North America and Japan. These pipelines are to be laid partly on land, partly on the seabed. Planning has also gone ahead for the construction of a pipeline over 200 km in length for the block Sachalin-1 in the north of the island. Also planned is the construction of an LNG plant (Liquid Natural Gas Production Plant) for liquefying gas and a port for the purpose in the Aniva Bay. Sachalin will then be the largest oil and gas project in the world with the highest financial investment in the world.

Consequences for the Indigenous People and the Environment

It is against these pipelines that the protest of the indigenous people is directed. The pipes will cross 1.103 rivers and streams, destroy the spawning grounds of the salmon, cut off the game passes and the last remaining pastures for reindeer. The overland pipelines will run through zones prone to earthquake. These projects are being carried out by transnational concerns like Shell, Exxon, British Petroleum and the firm Sachalin Energy. The indigenous people of

Sachalin, the 3150 Nivki, Nanai, Oroks, Orochs and Ulchs are particularly affected by the pumping of oil and gas. Construction work has already destroyed pastures for reindeer and forests. The indigenous people live now almost exclusively from the sale of traditional crafts. The reindeer breeders were not consulted concerning the drawing of the pipeline route. The "MGP VAL” company, which employs them, makes over their heads decisions which have negative consequences for the breeding of reindeer and at the same time declares hat it represents the interests of the reindeer breeders.

Both Shell and Exxon-Mobil use in the construction of their pipelines and drilling rigs obsolete technology. A leak in the pipelines would have catastrophic consequences for the grey whale population, fishery and the life of the Nivki (community.globalresponse.org). 25 different marine mammals, of which 11 are in danger of extermination, among them the grey whales, numbering barely 100. The area is also notable for the many species of fish: there are crustaceans, herring, cod and many kinds of salmon.

Sachalin: Home of Indigenous Peoples

Sachalin, in the language of the native people called lovingly "the wild shaggy animal”, is 948 km long and between 27 and 160 km wide. 3.150 of the 650.000 inhabitants belong to the indigenous groups of the Nivki, Nanai, Oroks and Evenks. They live mostly as subsistence farmers, fishermen, reindeer keepers or as collectors of wild plants. For jobs in the oil industry they are seldom sufficiently qualified.

The Nivki are traditionally for the most part fishermen living in the north of Sachalin. Numbering some 2000 people they are the largest indigenous group on Sachalin. In the 1930s, when fishery was collectivised, the Nivki were supposed to settle down and work on the fish farms, which were kept alive artificially by state subventions, although they were unprofitable. The children of the

farm workers were, like the other indigenous groups, educated in state boarding schools. There they soon forgot their own language and much of their own culture, for education was conducted solely on Russian lines.

In the 1960s many of these collective enterprises were amalgamated. Most of the Nivki were compulsorily moved to the district of Nogliki, where many of them could no longer find employment in the fishing industry. After the collapse of the Soviet Union the financing of the programmes for the advancement of the indigenous minorities came to an end. Kindergartens and boarding schools were closed and social privileges were abolished. Many Nivki became unemployed. Many of them still feel drawn to their old dwelling-place and return each year to the Nyski Bay. They remembered their traditional roots and took up fishery again as subsistence farmers (sakhalinenergy.com).

The Evenks are traditionally partially settled reindeer breeders. Domesticated reindeer are kept for riding and the transport of materials, while the wild ones are hunted. The Evenks too were made to settle and enter collectives in the Soviet era. Their social order and their cultural traditions suffered as a result. Meanwhile great efforts are being made to resuscitate the nomad way of life and the subsistence economy connected with it. The reindeer is still the most important means of transport. Modern means of transport have so far had scant success. There are some 1000 Evenks living on Sachalin.

The small group of the Oroks, some 130 strong, are closely related to the Ulchs, who live on the Amur. They too are traditionally reindeer breeders, who also live as hunters and fishermen. The Oroks in the north of Sachalin were forced into collectives in 1932, settling down in the area around the collective farm of Val, which had specialised in the breeding of reindeer. The Oroks living in the south of Sachalin gave up reindeer breeding in the 19th century and settled down as fishermen. Up until the Second World War this part of Sachalin belonged to Japan. The Oroks were treated with distrust on both sides of the border. When Sachalin was ceded to the Soviet Union at the end of the war some were afraid of being thrown into Soviet work camps and were evacuated to the island of Hokkaido in Japan.

The Nanai, who number about 170, are traditionally fishermen and hunters. Most of them live on the mainland, and only a small group of them on Sachalin. Today it is mainly old men who still engage in fishery. Most of them changed over to farming and animal husbandry at the time of the Kolchoz economy. Many Nanai also work in highly qualified occupations, e.g. as teachers.

The Orochs also have a tradition as fishermen and hunters. Most of the Orochs live in the south of the Khabarovsky Kray on the mainland. In the 19th century a group of them moved to the island of Sachalin, where today there are still some 210 Orochs. Today they are settled in villages and live from growing vegetables and animal husbandry. Many still fish and hunt. Trapping for furs has now dropped considerably in view of the strict regulation by hunting licences.

(Ethnographic information from npolar.no/ansipra/english/Index.html)

Resistance Takes Shape

Resistance is gradually taking shape against the pumping of oil by the international multis. Representatives of the indigenous but also of their organisations like RAIPON (Russian Association of indigenous Peoples of the North) have tried to carry their legitimate demands in talks with the Russian authorities and representatives of the companies. These negotiations broke down however in December 2004. They now see no other way of defending their rights and the natural resources of their island than by blocking the works and access roads to the large building sites. The indigenous peoples have therefore written to the banks principally concerned with the financing of the projects, the European bank for Reconstruction and Development in London and other banks providing credit for the oil industry in Tokyo, London and Washington. They hope that on the starting day of the protest, 20th January 2005, representatives of the banks will come to Sachalin in order to mediate in the dispute. It is quite clear to them that they cannot stop the project as a whole. They have therefore only three demands:

Demands on the Oil Firms:

- For all planned projects an independent environment impact assessment must be carried out.

- The oil forms must set up a fund for the development of the indigenous people of Sachalin.

- A permanent committee must be set up to discuss problems and the progress of the implementation of the first two demands.