Cleaning of oil polluted lands, strata waters treatment in accordance with environmental regulations and standards, minimization, neutralization of production wastes in compliance with modern requirements and their reprocessing, reduction of emission released to the atmosphere, placement of green spaces are among priority ecological lines of activity implemented by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR).
Recultivation and remediation
Regular monitoring is carried out at production sites and offshore/onshore oil-gas fields in order to ensure environmental protection and maintain day-to-day control while performing oil-gas and petrochemical operations. The samples taken during a periodical monitoring are delivered to the SOCAR’s Overall Testing Laboratory (OTL) which is dealing in different parameter-based analysis in order to ascertain whether requirements of international standards are properly observed. Moreover, a Geographic Information System (GIS) has been created with the purpose to conduct annual inspection of the environmental condition change in areas, which underwent ecological monitoring, organize and manage collected information. Proposals, aimed at addressing existing environmental problems, are developed in accordance with the results of the ecological monitoring. After selecting of recultivating technologies, projects are worked out to implement environmental remediation in accordance with a landscape-architecture plan of the area.
Recultivation and remediation operations continued in 2014 in accordance with a landscape-architecture plan of field areas of SOCAR, polluted with oil and oil products. Owing to these operations, recultivation and remediation was performed at 28 ha of polluted areas throughout a year. Total area of rehabilitated lands has made 1,496ha since 2006.
Last year, a Belgian Company ECOREM A.S. prepared a final report about surveys held as a part of the agreement about “risk modeling related recommendations and plans of remediation of polluted areas of the Absheron peninsula”.
Besides, broad-scale work was continued to ensure rational management of strata waters forming due to production processes at corresponding operation sites of SOCAR. Modern equipment has been used to ensure enclosed disposal and reinjection of formation waters forming at SOCAR’s offshore and onshore sites. Considerable amount of strata water is managed by means of enclosed systems at onshore sites of SOCAR OGPDs.
In December 2014, AWAS Company introduced a pilot project in order to purify strata water at sites of Surakhani Operation Company S.A. “Reverse osmosis” type modular facilities are operated for usage of the seawater for domestic and irrigation purposes.
Zero discharge
SOCAR continues implementing a 2010-2020 strategy aimed at mitigation of the impact on climate change. Besides, an associated gas emission decrease plan prepared jointly with the World Bank’s GGFR (Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership) for the period of 2010-2015 is underway as well.
In 2014, SOCAR voluntarily joined the “Zero Routine Flaring by 2030” initiative developed by GGFR. The initiative aims to end gas flaring till 2030 within gas projects and introduce a “Zero flaring” principle in new projects. It is worth mentioning that SOCAR’s new “zero emission” principle, to be followed in future projects, meets and complements the objectives of the World Bank’s new global gas flaring reduction initiative. On April 17, 2015, Washington (USA) hosted the spring meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, which launched an initiative “Zero routine flaring by 2030”. Held were also meetings with the WB’s President Jim En Kim, officials of the USA, executives of companies such as Total, Statoil, Shell, ENI and other heads of international oil companies engaged in oil-gas production.
As a part of the project on the Wastes Center expansion, an agreement for provision of drilling mud processing related services was signed with BP in 2014. Besides, the agreement for acquisition of two VacuDry plants designed for drilling mud processing was signed with ECON.
Climate Change Convention
According to the order for “measures aimed at implementation of the framework convention on climate change” signed by SOCAR President in 2008, inventory of gas, causing thermal effect at all operation sites of SOCAR, JVs and OCs, was made in order to address the above mentioned problems. Besides, project related ideas have been prepared, the proposals on clean development mechanism (CDM) have been assessed.
To maintain biological diversity and enlarge green areas, cultural services were provided to a total of 694,234 different sorts of flowers, trees and ornamental bushes, planted in recent years at field areas, where SOCAR entities carried out recultivation work, and at other production sites. In 2014 alone, SOCAR’s departments and entities planted 86,593 trees.
Eco-Park, established on the base of OGPD-owned former field area, has been one of the grandiose ecological projects of SOCAR. This project is a visual reflection of the campaign implying that environmental protection is nowadays a paramount social obligation of every human being living in our planet.
In the course of SOCAR’s activity in Azerbaijan, our major objective is to have oil industry’s impact on the environment reduced, secure healthy and clean environment for future generations. Therefore, both short-term and long-term projects have been worked out within the framework of SOCAR’s activity.
