World's Worst Ecological Oil Catastrophe

Russia: Near the Arctic Circle outside oil town, from a decommissioned well, oil is oozing out continuously like a viscous jam.

Environmentalists estimate at least 1 percent of Russia's annual oil production, or 5 million tons, is spilled every year. That is equivalent to one Deepwater Horizon-scale leak about every two months. Crumbling infrastructure and a harsh climate combine to spell disaster in the world's largest oil producer, responsible for 13 percent of global output.

"Oil and oil products get spilled literally every day," said Dr. Grigory Barenboim, senior researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Water Problems.
Other than oil wastage, it contamintaes soil, kills all plants that grow on it and also destroys habitats for mammals and birds. Every year 0.5 million tons get into rivers every year that flow into the Arctic Ocean which is upsetting the delicate environmental balance in those waters.