ENVIRONMENT
As a hydrocarbons operator, Dragon Oil understands the importance of protecting the environment where we operate. In 2011, we were proud to be able to reduce our gas flaring by almost two thirds, following the commissioning of the government’s gas compressor station at Hazar. Most of our daily production (140 mmscfs) is brought ashore through our new 30-inch, 40km trunk line. A major proportion of the unprocessed gas is fed into the Turkmen system, and we continue to help local homes with domestic gas, and also supply a number of local plants.
In 2011, we achieved the key landmark of defining the company’s Environmental Management System and Waste Management Plan. Developed with expert independent consultants, the system was implemented in 2012.
Our operations in Turkmenistan are certified to ISO 14001, and we also comply with local Turkmenistan legislation.
In January 2013, we constructed a new onshore drilling waste disposal facility, which is now operational. This enables us to maintain strict control over the quality and disposal of our waste mud.
We also drilled a number of onshore monitoring wells at the waste disposal site, in order to maintain strict control over land discharges and ensure no ground or water contamination as a result of the disposal operations.
In order to reduce emissions into the air, in 2014 the Group installed additional equipment for short-term gas treatment. However, as part of a longer-term solution, we intend to build a gas treatment plant that will enable the processing of gas to export quality, reducing the need for current levels of flaring.
In 2014, our Hazar operations hub celebrated the UN-initiated Earth Day by cleaning the city’s harbour area. More than 100 Dragon Oil employees joined in to collect over 250kg of recyclable litter, which was handled at our state-of-the-art waste disposal facility. They also planted 30 trees.
The Earth Day campaign brought together not only representatives of different Dragon Oil departments, but also many of the Company’s contractors.
ENVIRONMENT POLICY
Dragon Oil Turkmenistan Limited (DOTL), a fully owned subsidiary of Dragon Oil operating in Turkmenistan, shall strive to fulfil all environmental obligations and commitments toward being responsible global corporate citizens. This DOTL Environmental Policy mandates that all employees and contractors assume leadership roles in mitigating the environmental pollution arising in their pursuit of business aspirations and activities.
DOTL considers the protection of the environment an integral code of business strategy and practices. It shall explore sustainable approaches at work and implement suitable mitigations to reduce the emissions to protect the local environment, communities and society at large. Finally, DOTL aims to fulfil the environmental commitments through the following broad-level considerations:
- Committed to complying with all the applicable Turkmenistan environmental related legal and statutory requirements, and in particular the “Zero Discharge Policy”;
- Assessment of potential environmental risks and impacts for the new projects and ongoing operations to determine suitable environmental management plan frameworks;
- Complete implementation of environmental monitoring plan (EMP) and environmental mitigations at work to reduce potential environmental impacts;
- Integrate responsible environmental leadership in the planning and decision-making process;
- Adopting the “3-R” (reduce, reuse and recycle) philosophy for all types of wastes toward prevention of pollution and degradation of environment;
- Disposal of inevitable wastes in line with Turkmenistan regulatory requirements and industry best practices;
- Evaluate current technologies, products and raw materials for waste minimisation and review proper handling, storage and disposal techniques for existing wastes;
- Promoting green procurement to the extent possible wherever applicable;
- Communicate the environmental policy to all employees, business associates and other stakeholders and ensure that the policy is available to the public;
- Minimising the combustion of gas resources from flare system to the extent feasible and possible. For this purpose, DOTL shall explore the possibilities of reducing the flare emissions by providing gas resources for further efficient use such as power generation, which shall be attained in consultation with the concerned Turkmenistan government agencies and stakeholders;
- Controlling and minimisation of produced water effluent disposal to open lands to avoid impacts on land and water table. For this purpose, the produced water shall be treated initially to separate out the hydrocarbon pollutants prior to open disposal. Subsequent treatment options for dissolved solids shall be explored to reduce further the environmental impacts;
- All production and exploration solid waste including drill cuttings, spend drill waste, garbage and other solid waste shall be brought to the shore to avoid any type of marine pollution in the sea. Disposal of all waste shall be in accordance with the Turkmenistan regulations and approvals, and
- Review the environmental policy and allied management systems periodically to endure their continuing applicability and relevance to DOTL operations and evolving stakeholder expectations.
