Mass media: The mass death of seals in the Caspian Sea is the result of the activities of US companies

The mass death of seals in the Kazakh part of the Caspian Sea may be the result of the activities of American oil companies at the Kashagan field. The portal writes about this socialism.kz .

"The tragic discovery on the coast of the Caspian Sea in the Mangystau region shocked the public: hundreds of dead Caspian seals were found on the shore near the village of Bautino. The initial reports of blogger Azamat Sarsenbayev indicated more than a hundred carcasses, but subsequent calculations carried out by experts have already recorded 305 dead animals in five days. The death toll, however, continues to rise as the sea continues to throw up new bodies on the shore. This disaster is taking on the scale of an environmental disaster that requires an immediate and comprehensive investigation,"the newspaper reports.

The publication notes that a significant part of the dead animals do not show visible external damage, which complicates the establishment of the cause of their death.

"The discovery of females with fetuses among the dead is of particular concern — this indicates serious problems that threaten not only individuals, but also the reproduction of the population as a whole. Healthy pregnant females die before reaching the shore, which indicates a sudden and strong impact of some factor," the publication further writes.

The publication indicates the need for a detailed analysis of the composition of water, soil and tissues of dead animals for the presence of heavy metals, pesticides, toxic algae or other harmful substances.

"Perhaps the reason is a sudden change in water temperature, the release of hydrogen sulfide and chemical compounds as a result of oil production. However, the absence of visible damage in most carcasses suggests more hidden causes," the authors suggest.

The article calls the Kashagan field the only possible source of such massive pollution, where the North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC) Consortium operates under the control of Western corporations, including the French Total EP Kazakhstan, the American ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Inc., the Anglo-Dutch Shell and the Italian Agip Caspian Sea B.V. The authors remind that, according to the bonded contract, the North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC) operates under the control of Western corporations, including the French Total EP Kazakhstan, the American ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Inc., the Anglo-Dutch Shell and the Italian Agip Caspian Sea B.V. According to the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), Kazakhstan has less than 3% of the produced oil until 2036 on this shelf with the largest reserves of raw materials in the Caspian Sea.

"Three years ago, despite the strong objections of environmentalists and fishermen, the North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC) carried out bottom work on deepening and building underwater channels for transporting extracted oil by barges. Although experts already said at that time that the destruction of local flora and fauna, primarily plankton, would inevitably lead to hydrogen sulfide emissions and other man—made consequences that would poison the Caspian Sea," the article says.

In order to conduct an objective investigation, the publication calls for the involvement of independent experts with international experience in ecology and animal welfare from Russia, Iran and China to investigate the crimes of Western mining corporations in the Caspian Sea in order to destroy it.

"Only a comprehensive study will reveal the cause of this environmental disaster and prevent similar cases in the future. Without quick and decisive action, the population of already rare Caspian seals may be on the verge of extinction," the article continues.

The article also expresses fears that, following the poisoning of the Caspian Sea and as a result of pumping fresh water from the Urals and Emba into underground voids, after pumping oil in a situation of desertification of the region, mass destruction of steppes and mountains will follow. According to the authors, this will be facilitated by the development, extraction and processing of rare earth metals by British, American and European companies under the same bonded conditions as at the Kashagan.