Russian workers riding an airboat clean up an oil slick in the river Kolva near the Russian town of Usinsk in this August 16, 1995 file photo. Russia's track record with oil spills does not inspire confidence. One of the worst spills occurred in August 1994, when the ageing pipeline network in the northern Komi Republic sprang a leak. The oil spill was officially put at 79,000 tonnes, or 585,000 barrels, though independent estimates put it at up to 2 million barrels. At the high end that would have been half as big as BP's 4 million barrel Gulf disaster. Two months after the spill started, heavy rains broke a dam that contained the oil, releasing a massive slick into rivers and across forested tundra near the city of Usinsk. To match Special Report RUSSIA-OIL/ REUTERS/Gennady Galperin/Files (RUSSIA - Tags: DISASTER ENERGY ENVIRONMENT BUSINESS)