Environment

Safe oil and gas production with Imperial Energy Group

Encouraging nature protection

Given the specific nature of hazardous operations related to drilling, production, treatment and transportation of oil, Imperial Energy Group considers environmental protection and ecological safety as one of its paramount objectives. For this reason, activities of the Group pertaining to environmental safety and rational use of natural resources include an entire set of measures coordinated by the Environmental Safety Department.

Environmental protection measures are an integral part of the strategic investment program of Imperial Energy. The Group implements environmental projects at all stages of its development. It uses contemporary environmental friendly geological exploration, drilling and production technologies that use natural resources with maximum efficiency. Efficient technologies and operational capabilities of Imperial Energy make it possible to re-interpret old data on natural resources and to estimate oilfield potential.

To comply with environmental requirements, Imperial Energy Group implements a set of environmental measures:

• Engineering and environmental surveys for all producing fields and interfiled pipelines that assess background environmental conditions;
• Design and construction of facilities, implementation of production processes and equipment using the best available technology;  
• Use of technology ensuring economic use of raw resources, materials and energy carriers, recycling and waste disposal;
• Compulsory disposal of production and consumer waste;
• Environmental monitoring at all the fields, CTFs and inter-field pipelines owned by the Group of Companies;
• Development of maximum permissible emission limits for each field and CTF, waste generation limits, maximum permissible discharge from sewage treatment facilities at the operation sites of the Group;
• Remediation of disturbed soils;
• Ensuring 24/7 readiness of resources and crews for oil spill containment and response, diagnostics of inter-field and intra-field oil pipelines & tanks;
• Implementation of the gas program (the Group has commissioned an APG Treatment Facility);
• Other environmental protection activities (including the rearing and release of river fish fry into a water body).

Total expenses for environmental protection activities carried out by the Group from 2013 to 2023 exceeded 580 million rubles.

New environmental technologies

In 2006-2011 together with scientists from Tomsk, Imperial Energy Group has elaborated and has been implementing new environmental technologies: use of drill cuttings in the process of remediation of disturbed soils and use of amphibian plants to clean utility fluids. These technologies are considered in the designs for well and facilities construction. Utility fluids cleaning system with the help of biological ponds is simple to operate, to serve and requires less financial expenses to construct and maintain (in comparison with other cleaning methods). From the view of efficiency utility fluids cleaning system can be compared with manufactured units. 

Treatment of utility fluids using a system that includes oxidation ponds is easy to operate, maintain and requires significantly less funds for construction and upkeep (compared to other treatment methods). In terms of the efficiency of treatment of utility fluids, these are comparable to industrially manufactured installations. In 2021, Imperial Energy built treatment facilities in Snezhnoye field.

To reduce the amount of drilling waste and to use it in a sustainable manner, Imperial Energy has developed a “Regulation on drilling waste disposal in the process of disturbed soil remediation and construction of facilities”. The regulation establishes the right of Imperial Energy Group to use drilling waste as a recycled resource for its operations, specifically for remediation of disturbed soil. The regulation was approved by the state environmental expert authority.

In 2008, Environmental Safety Department prepared and implemented documentation on technical standards for drilled cuttings.          

Environmental culture at work

Among other things, the investment program of Imperial Energy includes the construction of environmental facilities in the license blocks of the Group. There are storm water and industrial sewage treatment systems at every field. Snezhnoye, Maiskoye fields and CTF Zavyalovo sewage treatment systems. In 2011, solid domestic and industrial waste landfill was put into operation at Maiskoye field.

Oil spill prevention and contingency plans have been developed for every operating facility of Imperial Energy to ensure safe operation of production facilities and prevent emergencies. Every year Imperial Energy purchases oil-gathering equipment and materials (oil-spill boons, sorbents, etc). Special tactical drills are organized annually at fields to check readiness of the Group's resources and facilities to contain emergencies and their aftermaths.    

Imperial Energy has purchased Fakel waste incinerators for every operated field of the Group to ensure decontamination (disposal) of industrial oil-contaminated waste.

To comply with the terms of license agreements, regular industrial environmental monitoring is ensured, which includes laboratory inspection of surface and ground water, soil composition, and control of atmospheric emissions.

To comply with environmental requirements, Imperial Energy develops and implements the environmental safety management system at all stages of production in full conformity with international practice. To this end, LLC Nord Imperial, LLC Allianceneftegaz and LLC Rus Imperial Group have obtained and maintain compliance with international environmental standards of ISO 14 001 since 2009. During annual inspections, the Group always proves its compliance with this standard.

The Group organizes annual education courses “Environmental safety” and “Handling of hazard class I-IV waste” for the employees to improve their environmental awareness, educational and professional levels.

Employees of the Environmental Safety Department regularly attend seminars, conferences, forums, exhibitions and visit manufacturers of oil-gathering equipment and materials to learn advanced practice, new developments in ecological engineering and environmental management.

Operations of Imperial Energy Group are environmentally oriented – and not only to stay in trend or because of concern for the image of the Group. Since the spring of 2007, the company has already planted over 1,500 trees in Tomsk, Kargasok and Parabel areas of the Tomsk region. In autumn 2013, Imperial Energy organized and held an event called "Plant a tree with Imperial Energy!" in Parabel and Kargasok areas. In cooperation with the Strizh environmental organization and pupils from different schools of the two areas, cedar alleys with 300 young trees have been planted.  In 2017, at the Lower Terrace of Tomsk Camp Garden, Imperial Energy planted the alley of Russian-Indian friendship jointly with representatives of municipal and regional authorities, as well as with representatives of the Jawaharlal Nehru cultural center under the Embassy of the Republic of India in Russia. Imperial Energy Group sees environmental safety assurance as its social mission, and is convinced that protecting the environment and ecology today is a contribution to the future.