Marina Sedykh: Environmental wellbeing of regions warrants joint action of major companies

“In line with our mission, we strive to ensure a maximum possible processing of the natural resources we extract – not only oil and gas, but also formation water. We have been re-injecting associated petroleum gas into formation since 2009, and building up a fleet of heavy-duty compressors to that end,” Ms. Sedykh said.

She noted that greenhouse gas emissions happen during large-scale wildfires, among other reasons. To address this problem, the INK Group has a well-staffed and efficient firefighting service: “In addition to contracts with specialized state services, we now have our own firefighting license.”

Ms. Sedykh explained that the company had been reducing its emissions of CO₂ and other greenhouse gases consistently for a long time, with considerable success. But there are many other industrial operations, e.g., metallurgic and other plants present in the same regions as INK. They use outdated equipment that is extremely harmful to the environment.”

“We often say that countries can join their efforts to work on the sustainable development agenda, but it is large companies having negative environmental impacts in concrete regions that need to unite in the first place, to maintain a balance of economic development and environmental wellbeing. It is not that difficult, in fact. We just need to realize it. Maybe women should be appointed general directors of those companies to take action,” Ms. Sedykh said.

Background

At the end of 2023, the INK Group adopted a climate strategy reflecting the company’s contribution to combatting global warming. The INK Group has a serious and consistent approach to matters related to climate change. The climate agenda is addressed in the company by a specially designated Sustainable Development, ESG and IMS Committee under the Board of Directors of JSC INK-Capital. In the past three years, the INK Group adopted a number of fundamental documents: the Sustainable Development and ESG Policy, the Decarbonization Strategy, and the Climate and Environmental Policies.  

The Climate Strategy-2050 sets out a detailed analysis of the impact of the INK Group's activities (process carbon intensity) on climate change and measures to mitigate the impact. Construction of gas distribution infrastructure and start-up of all production facilities, including the Irkutsk Polymer Plant, will help drive down the greenhouse gas emissions significantly.

Energy efficiency is regarded in the climate strategy as one of the key factors in reducing the impacts on climate. The less energy is consumed and the more efficiently it is used in the operations, the lower the Company’s carbon footprint.

One more environmental action the Company undertakes is the field studies conducted on its license blocks since 2023 with the aim of developing a comprehensive biodiversity conservation program.