LUKOIL To Save Russian Saiga Population

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation Dmitry Kobylkin and President of LUKOIL Vagit Alekperov signed Joint Action Agreement in Moscow, today.

According to the document, LUKOIL will supplement its current corporate biodiversity action plan with measures to recover and protect population of the Saiga antelope in the Russian Federation, inhabiting primarily the Republic of Kalmykia  and the Astrakhan Region.

As population of the antelope underwent a catastrophic fall in the past twenty - thirty years as the result of poaching, illegal international trade and uncontrolled usage of pastures, the saiga became an endangered species.

Wherever the company operates, preserving biodiversity remains one of priorities of LUKOIL’s environmental policy that requires regular environmental monitoring and envisages an action plan to grow populations of fish, birds and plants, including rare, indicator species. Protection of the relict antelope will be a significant milestone for the Caspian ecosystem support project.