Environment Day is celebrated around the world every year on 5 June. The aim is to raise awareness of the responsible use of natural resources. The main theme of this year’s eco-date was tackling plastic pollution and introducing the principles of a «circular economy».

At the end of 2022, Rosneft’s green investments amounted to about 57 billion roubles, an increase of 4% year-on-year. The total over the past three years has been almost 156 billion roubles. Funds have been used to improve pipeline reliability, wastewater management, waste management and the reclamation of disturbed land, including «historic heritage».

The Company has prioritised a strategic initiative to achieve a net positive impact on ecosystems. This is achieved through the comprehensive implementation of circular economy measures, biodiversity conservation, the elimination of environmental «historical legacies» (contaminated land and waste generated by previous site owners), etc.

Rosneft is improving the efficiency of its waste management processes and introducing «circular economy» principles: developing metrics for monitoring, training Company employees and reducing the types of consumables. Rosneft enterprises separately collect secondary raw materials (plastics, paper, cardboard, scrap metal, etc.), which are transferred to specialised organisations for disposal. The Syzran refinery, for example, collected over 9 tonnes of waste paper and 200 kg of plastic for recycling in 2022.

Last year, Rosneft ‑Lubricants became a member of the Waste Recycling Association, which allows it to meet targets for improving the environmental friendliness of production, developing an environmental culture and improving waste management processes.

Rosneft has set itself the goal of eliminating the «historical legacy» by 2035, which will be achieved through the activities of an environmental «historical legacy» elimination programme.

Careful and sensible use of water resources is Rosneft’s priority in environmental protection. For example, Bashneft’s biological wastewater treatment plant is one of the largest in Eurasia in terms of wastewater treatment volume. The plant provides the highest level of wastewater treatment, allowing us to increase the volume of water reused in technological processes and significantly reduce the volume of water taken from natural sources.

Samotlorneftegaz and Samaraneftegaz have completely stopped drawing water from natural reservoirs to maintain reservoir pressure. The Achinsk refinery’s wastewater treatment plant system is now 99.8% efficient.

Angarsk Petrochemical Company is also implementing measures to reduce the consumption of «fresh» water. Angarsk Petrochemical Company ‑is the first company in Eastern Siberia to abandon chlorination and switch to a more environmentally friendly method of waste treatment using ultraviolet light.

Biodiversity conservation ‑is another important area of Rosneft’s environmental activities. The Company carries out activities to replenish aquatic bio-resources, as well as large-scale scientific research on bio-indicator species and unique fauna.

Each year, the Company’s subsidiaries replenish populations of sterlet, muksun, thymallus, peled, common carp, silver carp and other valuable fish species. For example, under an agreement with the government of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous District – Yugra, Samotlorneftegaz and Kondaneft are implementing a project to preserve the Siberian sturgeon, which is listed as an endangered species in the Red Book. In total, more than 55 million fry of this valuable and commercially important fish were released into water bodies by 2022.

Komsomolsk Refinery is working with specialists from the Zapovednoe Priamurie nature reserve to conserve and restore the population of the red-listed Steller’s sea eagle as part of the «Under Strong Wing» conservation project. The Sakhalinmorneftegaz-Shelf (Sakhalin-1 project) includes effective measures to protect grey whales, a rare species found in the enterprise’s area of operations. The measures to protect the ecosystem have been developed by the oil companies based on many years of research and observations by leading biologists.

RN-Uvatneftegaz launched a programme to study and protect the forest reindeer population in the Uvat district of the Tyumen region in 2022 and supported the publication of a unique book on specially protected natural areas in the Tyumen region. With the help of oil workers, specialists from Tyumen State University are studying the ornithological fauna and the state of populations of rare bird species listed in the Red Books of Russia and the Tyumen region.

RN-Vankor launched a grant programme in 2022 to support scientific research of applied importance in the Taimyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky District of Krasnoyarsk Territory, where the world’s greenest production project, Vostok Oil, is being implemented. Scientists will assess the status of aquatic biological resources in the Yenisey Bay of the Kara Sea and goose-bird resources in the Western Taimyr, and develop measures for their conservation and rational use. The project will also assess the status and dynamics of the vegetation cover of the western part of the Taimyr.

With the support of Vostsibneftegaz, the Tunguska State Nature Reserve continues to study the maral, the red deer. The enterprise is also implementing a grant programme to study the vegetation cover affected by natural fires in the territory of Evenkia. As part of the project, researchers will assess the rate of re-vegetation and develop recommendations for effective regeneration of these areas.

Much attention is paid to the restoration and compensation of forest plantations, which contribute to the sustainable development of ecosystems and the conservation of biodiversity. In total, Rosneft subsidiaries planted more than 7 million seedlings of various tree species last year.

The number of participants in the volunteer movement is growing, and environmental projects are particularly popular, including Green Spring, «Live, Forest!», Memory Tree and many others. Not only employees, but also their families, young people and schoolchildren are actively involved.

Orenburgneft employees and Rosneft-classes schoolchildren held a joint environmental action. Thanks to the volunteers, about 40 km² of the banks of the Sorochinskoye Reservoir and the Buzuluk River have been cleaned.

The successful environmental activities of Rosneft’s subsidiaries received high public recognition: Angarsk Petrochemical Company, Samotlorneftegaz, RN-Vankor, Syzran, Novokuibyshevsk and Kuibyshev refineries won the Leader of Environmental Protection in Russia national contest in different years.

Rosneft
Information Division
June 5, 2023

Keywords: Environmental news 2023