Karachaganak Petroleum Operating B.V. has won the BG Group Chairman’s Award 2011 in the category - “Climate Change - GHG Reduction Programme” category. The award ceremony was held at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
The award is being received in this area for KPO’s considerable achievements in reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, which are considered to be the main cause of climate change. Staff from Corporate Department for Environmental Protection led by HSEQ Controller Cristiano Gioacchini, represented the company.
KPO General Director, Damiano Ratti said the company strives to continuously improve safety and environmental performance. “Company spending for the implementation of the KPO Environmental Protection Measures Plan amounted to US $22.4 million for 2011. As per the five-year strategy to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, KPO has implemented GHG reduction projects reaching one million tonnes of CO2. Specific greenhouse gas emissions have dropped in 2011, from 83.9 to 83.5 tonnes of CO2 per kilotonne of hydrocarbons produced,” he said.
In addition, he added that reducing flaring remaines a key area of KPO’s commitment: “Only 0.08 per cent of the total gas produced by KPO in 2011 was flared, as opposed to 0.13 per cent in 2010. KPO is therefore demonstrating a world-class gas utilisation rate of 99.92 per cent, whilst the regulatory target approved within the Gas Utilisation Programme is 99.75 per cent”.
This achievement could be considered to be world class. KPO continues to look for possible ways to maintain high levels of plant reliability, and introduce further emission reduction technologies, especially in the areas of well testing and well clean-up.
In line with the policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan and its commitment to the Kyoto Protocol, KPO has voluntarily committed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which are recognised as the main cause of global warming. KPO’s GHG Reduction Strategy has set the challenging objective of delivering a total project reduction of one million tonnes of CO2 over five years. This objective was successfully achieved in 2011.
To support its leadership position in environmental protection at the technically-complicated Karachaganak field is a challenge demanding the company’s constant and serious efforts. Therefore KPO applies world class methods and the latest technology to overcome climate change issues.
For example, in 2011, KPO completed a feasibility study on the recovery of liquid hydrocarbons during well clean-up operations. The project is scheduled to commence in the first quarter 2012.
This initiative is expected to diminish liquid hydrocarbons flaring by 2,800 tonnes per year, which is 40 per cent of the amount that was flared in 2011. It should be noted that protecting the air, soil, water, biodiversity and ecosystems of Karachaganak is the main goal of its Environmental Programme.
Environmental impacts are identified at the early stages of any new project through an environmental impact assessment. Since assuming the operatorship of Karachaganak in 1997, the contractor has invested over US $214 million in specific environmental protection measures to improve the environmental performance at the field.
Biodiversity conservation is one of the most critical elements of economic, environmental and political programmes. In view of the signing of a number of international agreements (the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Cartagena Protocol) many countries have started special scientific research on biodiversity conservation and restoration, as it is a key step in ensuring the efficient functioning of the ecosystem.
KPO has not remained indifferent to this issue, as the Karachaganak oil and gas condensate field is a habitat for many species of flora and fauna, some of which are included in the Red Book of Kazakhstan.
In 2010, KPO conducted a study on biodiversity conservation. The scope of the research covered a biodiversity baseline survey and impact assessment on industrial activities performed at the field. Based on the outcomes of the research in 2011, KPO developed a draft Biodiversity Action Plan and Biodiversity Strategy.
Paying a great deal of attention to ecological problems, KPO recently announced the “Best Environmental Proposal Contest 2012” dedicated to World Environment Day. This contest is held between the 16th of April and the 21st of May. According to the organisers, the purpose of the competition is to attract the attention of company employees to environmental issues, through giving them the opportunity to design efficient proposals for improving environmental performance.
During the contest, overall 55 proposals were collected. All themes concerned problems such as reducing pollution emissions, waste management enhancement, the sustainable use of water resources, energy economisation, public awareness on environmental issues and the conservation of biodiversity.
