Remediation

Among other environmental problems that TNK-BP inherited from its predecessor companies, it acquired ownership of more than 5,000 ha of land contaminated with oil, hundreds of sludge and drill cuttings pits and several thousand tons of drilling waste. Most of these sites are located in West Siberia with ca. 80% of them concentrated at Samotlor. This field is in operation for more than thirty years now, and nobody cared to observe advanced environmental standards at the early phases of its development. The production peaked in the early 1980s but the environmental effects still persist.

TNK-BP assumed responsibilities to eliminate the inherited oily and disturbed lands and accumulated drilling waste (the so-called ‘environmental legacy’). A special program was developed to eliminate them and more than $200 mln were allocated to fund the program activities. The program is revised and adjusted on an annual basis considering the progress, new remediation expertise and technology. As a result, ca. 2,500 hectares of land were fully remediated and handed over to the authorized government commissions.

The company completed comprehensive stocktaking of contaminated lands in 2009. The resulting data on the remaining area of legacy contaminations turned out to be lower than company forecasts and coincided with similar information held by the Government of Khanty-Mansiysk autonomous district. In addition, we made research in land remediation and waste processing/neutralization technology. The outcomes demonstrated that it was possible to optimize the applicable technological approaches, in particular, for contaminated soil cutoff technology. The appropriate recommendations for subsidiaries and design organizations will be drafted for implementation and introduction in 2010.

In the course of 2009, we worked to contain and eliminate a legacy underground petroleum product accumulation in the territory adjacent to Uvek oil depot to prevent potential wedging of petroleum products into the Volga. For that purpose, we made special research, developed and approved a design and performed the bulk of work to construct a drainage system. The construction is planned to be completed in Q2 2010.