Environment
According to the assessment of the environmental consultant company, Ramboll CIS LLC, the Irkutsk Polymer Plant project will not have an irreversible negative impact on the natural and social environment and public health.
Air
Analysis of the assessment of the impact of pollutant emissions on the air quality of the nearest residential areas showed that the concentrations of pollutants will not exceed the hygienic standards, taking into account the background concentrations of pollutants.
The design of the plant under construction provides for an automatic system of atmospheric air quality monitoring, and not only near the production site. The company is considering to install sensors in the city enabling the system to record pollution 24 hours a day.
Fauna and flora
The company will continue its multi-year work on reforestation and fish reproduction. As part of the construction of the plant, additional measures for fish stocking the Lena River and Bratsk Reservoir are provisioned. After the construction is completed, it is planned to release more than 21 thousand pieces of hatchlings. At the stage of plant operation, annual release of more than 121 thousand hatchlings is planned.
With the help of the local hunting community, Irkutsk Oil Company intends to engage in wildlife rehabilitation activities — keeping the headcount of animals and feeding them.
Water
A division of the French company Water Technologies and Solutions SUEZ will supply wastewater treatment technology using a membrane bioreactor, reversible electrodialysis and evaporation with thermal vapor recompression. These technologies will allow the plant to achieve almost zero liquid waste discharge and implement maximum water reuse, thereby limiting the plant’s negative impact on the environment. The agreement also includes a 10-year service contract.
All generated wastewater, including sanitary, rain, oil-contaminated and industrial wastewater, will be collected into separate sewer systems and treated to fishery standards at the plant’s wastewater treatment facilities.
Inventorying greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
The necessity of inventorying and quantifying greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions not only offers new challenges to companies in terms of compliance with new environmental requirements, but also leads them to rethink their business approaches. In accordance with Federal Law No. 296 dated July 2, 2021 “On Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions”, companies are required to keep account of GHG emissions and to implement environmental projects later on (on a voluntary basis).In line with the best practices for oil and gas projects, Irkutsk Polymer Plant has quantified GHG emissions for the construction stage including the activities of all construction contractors. The bulk of GHG emissions were due to energy consumption in power and heat supply to production and associated facilities, specifically, in diesel and petrol combustion at diesel power stations, in heat generators, combustion engines in passenger and utility vehicles, and consumption of electricity supplied externally via the grids of the Irkutsk Region.
In 2021, contractor companies consumed 9.2 thousand t of diesel and 2.5 thousand t of petrol on the construction site, and electric power consumption totaled 12,582.5 MWh. Total gross GHG emissions in 2021 roughly amounted to 36 thousand t of СО2 equivalent.
Contractor companies working on the construction site of Irkutsk Polymer Plant were encouraged to reinforce their efforts to reduce fuel overconsumption in engines, to timely inspect and perform scheduled and preventive repairs of fuel equipment, and to comply with the requirements of the construction management plan. As the next step, key performance indicators will be introduced to keep track of emissions by individual contractors, and specific engineering and administrative solutions will be implemented to reduce energy consumption.
