PETROLEUM. Analytical journal. New projects, fields’ development, production, processing and transportation of oil and gas, presentation of the companies, statistics on the production of hydrocarbons, monitoring of investment legislation.

For “Karachaganak Petroleum Operating B.V.” the year 2019 heralds 40th anniversary of the Karachaganak Oil and Gas Condensate Field discovery. It took relatively short period for the Republic of Kazakhstan to become one of the leading international supplier of petroleum products. In developing Karachaganak, which is one of the most complex fields in the world, KPO uses the most advanced and, in some cases, innovative technologies for hydrocarbon extraction and processing.

 

The production and processing of hydrocarbons place a great responsibility on KPO with respect to environmental protection.  The Company is committed to the principles and high standards of sustainable development and fully supports the “transition to Green Economy” initiative announced by President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

 

KPO applies a comprehensive Environmental Management System to identify and control environmental impacts and continuously improve environmental performance.

 

In July 2018, a surveillance audit of the integrated management system ISO 14001:2015 and 50001:2011 was successfully carried out in KPO, based on the results of which, the company environmental and energy management systems were recognized as effective and were maintained in compliance with the above mentioned international standards.

 

Emission reduction, waste management and application of new technologies are among the Company´s focus areas. Reducing the amount of flared gas remains one of KPO´s key commitments. At the moment gas recovery index at the Karachaganak field is 99.94%. Such a gas recovery rate is in keeping with the best achievements of the modern world oil and gas industry. In 2018, the volume of gas flaring was equal to 0.06% out of the total volume of gas produced by KPO. This confirms that KPO achieved very good performance level on this indicator among world and European oil and gas production enterprises.

 

From the day it assumed responsibilities as operator of Karachaganak field in 1997, KPO has invested over $380 million in implementing a large number of initiaves aimed at improving the environmental conditions in the field.

 

In 2018-2019, KPO Company took the second place of honor in the openness rating of Kazakhstani oil and gas companies in the field of environmental responsibility. The ceremony was co-hosted by the Russia’s World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and CREON Group with the support of the RoK Ministry of Energy. 

 

This rating was established to reduce environmental impact and enhance the efficient use of hydrocarbon resources, as well as to run socially responsible business in Kazakhstan. The rating was based on the details of companies’ activities in Kazakhstan available in the public space.

 

KPO, as one of the rating winning companies, was regarded as a company with high level of transparency in terms of the environmental aspects of its operations. It is for the second year that this rating becomes a great encouragement for the further improvement of KPO transparency and efficiency with regard to environmental protection.

 

On the top of that, KPO received American Chamber of Commerce Award in ‘Environmental and Safety” category at the official Annual Gala Dinner ceremony held in Astana on 9 June.  For the 2018, Award KPO submitted a series of successful environment protection initiatives implemented recently including GHG emissions reduction, Gas Utilization, Waste and Water Management, certification Environmental and Energy Management Systems, implementation of environmental protective measures activities.

 

It is commonly known that the year of 2019 was declared as the Year of Youth in Kazakhstan by the Order of the RK President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, issued on November 13, 2018.  With that in view, in February 2019, KPO, jointly with the West-Kazakhstan Oblast Akimat, announced an “Environmental Innovative Ideas” contest among the WKO student youth in order to encourage the younger generation to present their vision regarding the sustainable development of the region and contribute to its future by sharing their environmental innovative ideas and suggestions.

 

Besides meeting the stringent standards set by the authorities and shareholders, KPO also try to pull environmental issues broader than just Company. Starting from 2017, KPO has established an annual Environmental “Uralsk Green Forum” with the support of the West Kazakhstan Region Akimat and the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan. As usual, the Forum is timed to coincide with annual celebration of the World Environment Day. The forum offers a unique opportunity to have an open dialogue between business and government on the issues of environmental protection, energy saving and energy efficiency enhancement. Such forums are expected to facilitate an efficient interaction between the subsurface users and RK Competent Authorities.

 

In 2017, the topics of the first environmental forum were focused on the urgent environmental and energy saving issues within promotion of the Concept of green economy and EXPO-2017, as well as consideration of modern approaches and waste disposal solutions.

 

In 2018, within the framework of the second environmental forum, the participants discussed plans and prospects for further development in the field of environmental protection and energy saving, further improvement of environmental legislation, as well as new initiatives and suggestions for implementation of the “green economy” principles and the Strategic Development Plan of the Republic of Kazakhstan until 2025. In addition to the above, special emphasis was placed on the implementation of innovative technology in the oil and gas industry, including waste processing.

 

In the course of the second environmental forum, the NJSC International Center for Green Technologies and Investment Projects, the West Kazakhstan Oblast Akimat and KPO signed an Agreement on cooperation and partnership to attain shared objectives and fulfill mutual interests in the field of green technologies and projects to speed up Kazakhstan transition to the "green economy".

 

In 2019, a number of issues related to the issue of the RK new Environmental Code is scheduled to be discussed during the third environmental forum. The Environmental Code was set to be improved by the RK Ministry of Energy in 2018 for the purpose of bringing the RK environmental legislation in line with the environmental requirements of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as well as encouraging nature users to adopt green technologies.

 

As can be seen from the above, the represented achievements of the company for the past two years are a reflection of the fact that KPO aspires to be a leader in the field of environmental protection. Introduction of the energy management system will allow KPO to increase energy efficiency, reduce the impact on the environment and emissions of greenhouse gas, and create production work practices based on energy conservation. The Company will continue improving its energy performance and contribute to the transition of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the “green economy”, securing a leading role in the oil and gas sector. Being committed to responsible partnership and environmental friendliness, KPO is striving for new achievements for the benefit of the Republic of Kazakhstan, local community and partners of the Karachaganak Project.