In-house environmental monitoring
Surgutneftegas pays close attention to the system of industrial safety compliance control and environmental monitoring at the Company’s facilities.
The Company has eleven laboratories to perform in-house monitoring of water and soil quality, and ambient air, as well as environmental impact of emission and discharge sources, and disposal sites.
The Company’s Central Base Laboratory for Ecoanalytical and Process Studies responsible for general environmental monitoring is accredited by the Standardization, Metrology and Certification Committee (GosStandart) of Russia to perform analysis of 707 parameters, including 365 ecological and 47 radiological parameters. The unique laboratory facilities carry out a wide range of research and analysis activities, including determination of heavy metals, carcinogenic and polluting substances, and natural radionuclides in all media. Research is conducted by trained engineering and laboratory personnel using up-to-date instrumentation such as chromato-mass-spectrometers, gas and liquid chromatographs, and spectrophotometers.
In 2009, six chemical analytical laboratories of Oil and Gas Production Divisions were also accredited for 30 positions. Production and research laboratory of Oil and Gas Production Division “Talakanneft” conducting environmental monitoring in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and Irkutskaya Oblast obtained accreditation for 283 positions, including 24 radiological ones.
Laboratory experts monitor the quality of natural waters, bottom sediments, ambient air and snow cover at all fields in operation while those put on stream undergo baseline assessment. Emission sources are monitored to ensure compliance with maximum allowable air pollution emissions.
The environmental quality surveillance and trend evaluation system in use makes it possible to detect adverse environmental changes due to anthropogenic factors and minimize consequences thereof.
Surgutneftegas actively employs environmental monitoring technology with remote sensing application in the Company’s geographic information system environment developed by SurgutNIPIneft, in-house R&D Institute. The Company is taking an inventory of oil contaminated lands at its fields to create electronic database of the current environmental state and is using spectrozonal space images and local aerosurvey materials generally related to the Company to perform monitoring.
According to environmental monitoring data, the environmental impact of Surgutneftegas’ production facilities is defined as acceptable; thus, the Company meets environmental quality standards.
The Environmental Division was established in 1978, and today employs 185 environmental specialists, 125 workers of 11 laboratories and 370 specialists of 7 divisions are engaged in accident prevention and clean-up activities.
Surgutneftegas’ ecological management system involves all the Company’s divisions. Within environmental policy of the Company staff liabilities and responsibilities are specified throughout the entire management vertical. There are elaborated procedures to define primary ecological aspects which constitute the basis for environmental activity planning.
