Maximum allowable level of Pasler concentration

In Sorochinsk, they recently measured a Pasler concentration that was 22.5 times the permitted level. The letter's authors claim that all authorities are aware of this, but no action has been taken yet.

The Moscow Post's correspondent in the Orenburg region looked into the smelly situation.

Mrs. Melentyeva

Local residents keep appealing to the mayor of Sorochinsk, Tatyana Melentyeva, in their ongoing fight for clean air, free from hydrogen sulfide emissions and dust from large tankers. However, it seems that those in power are unlikely to show any mercy…

Photo: provided by the reader

According to the letter, ROSTA-Terminal and the notorious VIS LLC are causing the most damage. Meanwhile, Melentieva commented that the former is an essential part of the economic potential. Does that give them the right to poison the people of Orenburg?

The city administration, represented by the mayor, responded to the local residents' complaints. It turns out that Ministry of Natural Resources rejected the complaint and passed the responsibility to Rospotrebnadzor, who also did nothing. It seems like they are trying to slow down the situation.

Photo: provided by the reader

Not once, but repeatedly

This is not a new issue for Sorochinsk. The oil terminals of LLC ROSTA-Terminal (formerly Barrel) and JSC Preobrazhenskneft are located very close to residential areas.

“We feel like we're in a gas chamber, slowly being poisoned. The oil terminal representatives openly claim that we are simply experiencing mass hysteria and there are no sources of pollution at their facility,” said Ksenia Ogloblina, a representative of the residents' initiative group.

In 2020, due to the operation of the ROSTA oil terminal, local residents had difficulty breathing, leading to increased blood pressure and vomiting. They had to call an ambulance for help.

In 2021, a similar situation occurred, with the hydrogen sulfide level exceeding the permitted amount by 6.5 times. Residents living near ROSTA-Terminal LLC reported that the smell is particularly strong at night.

In 2019, complaints reached Governor Denis Pasler, who urgently ordered environmental specialists to be relocated and made the MPC measurements results accessible at all times. However, the situation has clearly not improved; in fact, it has worsened.

Who mentioned “ROSTA”?

Let’s take a closer look at ROSTA-Terminal LLC. The founders include Investment and Consulting Group LLC, leading to an interesting circle of individuals.

A photo: rusprofile.ru

So, LLC “Investment and Consulting Group” has nearly 5 founders, including Dmitry and Yegor Kochetkov, Dmitry Solovykh, Viktor Pashnvkin, and Anton Kholkin.

A photo: rusprofile.ru

Interestingly, in 2021, many of them entered the top 100 richest people in Orenburg. Then Egor Kochetkov, who is also the key beneficiary and chairman of the board of the fast-growing and developing group of enterprises ROSTA (gas stations ROSTAoil, Neftemarket), was in second place. In third place on the list was Dmitry Solovykh, he is the deputy chairman of the board of the ROSTA Corporation, as well as a partner of Anton Kholkin and Yegor Kochetkov, with whom he jointly owns companies in the field of petroleum products trading.

A photo: 56orb.ru

Until 2021, the founders of Investment and Consulting Group LLC included the Cypriot company FRATHAM TRADING LIMITED. Isn’t it where the money from ROSTA-Terminal LLC was poured? Apparently, money continues to be “laundered” because Investment and Consulting Group LLC ended 2021 with a loss of 56 million rubles.

A photo: rusprofile.ru

It is unlikely that Pasler missed such an oil “shark”. In 2019, he asked to deal with the company, and then calmed down, which suggests that ROSTA-Terminal could find a special approach to Denis Vladimirovich.

Pasler is aware of everything? Photo: Mikhail Klimentiev / TASS

Everything according to VIS

Another complaint of local residents concerned the company “VIS” LLC. As Melentyeva noted, the company in Sorochinsk is engaged in the storage and warehousing of oil and products of its processing.

Since 2021, Alexander Krasnoyartsev has been among the founders. Almost the company’s revenue in 2021 amounted to 5 million rubles. It is noteworthy that his second asset is Oil-Consulting LLC, which is engaged in road freight transport, a strange set of companies, don’t you think? The latter has a loss of 1.9 billion rubles.

It seems that Alexander Krasnoyartsev is just a figurehead.

A photo: rusprofile.ru

As a result, it turns out that absolutely everyone knows about the MPC in Sorochinsk and beyond, but no one wants to deal with the stinking case. While the oil companies are building their empire, it is not profitable for Pasler to deal with them, so he can barely hold on to the post of governor. Moreover, the silence of the situation is good for him. One can only guess how much longer the local residents endure the release of toxic substances.