Our Arctic Neighbors: Gazprom plans environmental controls

The environmental protection committee of Russia’s Gazprom met in October and discussed measures to be taken at the Bovanenkovskoe and Prirazlomnoye projects in the Arctic, both of which are in the development stage. The Bovanenkovskoe oil and gas condensate field is on the Yamal Peninsula and the Prirazlomnoye oil field is in the Pechora Sea.

Environmental solutions will be applied at Bovanenkovskoe that will reduce the amount of land withdrawn by enabling its technical and biological recultivation, Gazprom said in a release Oct. 16. Currently the discharge of wastewater into the soil and water reservoirs is prohibited at Bovanenkovskoe, and construction and installation activities may not take place during birds’ spring nesting season. Fish protection systems are also in place.

To allow the unobstructed migration of reindeer herds, the Bovanenkovskoe development project envisages the installation of passages across pipeline facilities. The placement and design of the passages have been agreed upon with local reindeer herders. Environmental monitoring has been planned for the construction and operations periods.

The Prirazlomnoye project has been designed taking into account the Pechora Sea’s natural and climatic conditions, based on years of observations, as well as the results of geotechnical and environmental engineering research, according to Gazprom. The project provides for the ultimate recycling of produced waste and includes a prohibition on the disposal of drilling waste and uncleansed sewage into sea water. It also envisages the development of an oil spill prevention and elimination system in the open sea, on ice, under ice and in the onshore area, as well as development of an industrial and environmental control and monitoring system.

—Sarah Hurst