OREANDA-NEWS. September 30, 2008. Gubkin Scientific and Technical Society of Oil and Gas Engineers (NTO NG) held conference Environment Protection at Oil and Gas Facilities at Tatneft office, Almetyevsk, Republic of Tatarstan, reported the press-centre of Tatneft.

Mr. Eduard Vekilov, Manager of HSE Section of Gubkin NTO NG Central Board, acted as research manager of the conference. The co-managers of the conference were Mr. Alexander Saltykov, Executive Director of Gubkin NTO NG Central Board; Mr. Nail Ibragimov, First Deputy General Director on Production Issues - Chief Engineer of Tatneft Company; Mr. Alexander Volkov, Head of HSE Dept. - Chief Technical Labour Inspector of the RF Neftegazstroyprofsoyuz.

A wide range of crucial issues regarding the maintenance of ecological balance while developing oil and gas fields was discussed at the conference, including, inter alia, legal aspects of environmental issues; ecological problems  related to the field  development in the Western Siberia, polar  regions and continental shelf; environment issues related to the utilization of associated gas at shallow fields and on shelf; latest developments in environment protection techniques and technologies applied  for oil and gas field drilling and development, for hydrocarbons transportation and processing; advanced methods of technical and ecological survey; control elements for environment protection  services in oil and gas industry; relations between  operators, regulatory bodies and community, etc.

Alexander Saltykov pointed out in his opening speech that OAO Tatneft is in the forefront of environmental care in the Russian oil and gas complex.

Nail Ibragimov, First Deputy General Director - Chief Engineer of Tatneft Company, emphasized in his speech that the issue of environment protection is one of six top tasks of the company alongside with advancing dynamic development, capitalization increase, economic and social prosperity of Russia and Tatarstan, improvement of industrial standards in oil and gas sectors, as stipulated in the corporate code of the company.

Among participants of the conference were specialists and scientists of Tatneft Company, TatNIPIneft Institute, Ministry of Ecology and Natural resources of the Republic of Tatarstan; the conference was attended by the representatives of oil and gas companies, service companies and research centers of Russia, including OAO Gazprom, LUKOIL, VNIIgaz, Mining Institute of the RAS Ural Branch, TomskNIPIneft, PermNIPIneft, VNIPIgasdobycha, etc.

The conference participants visited Tatneft industrial facilities and had sightseeing excursions over Almetyevsk City. They visited Almetyevsk State Petroleum Institute, the Youth Center, the central park and other places of interest; the participants got acquainted with the company's environment preservation activity and its contribution to the development of urban amenities in the oil capital of Tatarstan.

The conference provided a good opportunity to the specialists of the oil and gas industry to familiarize themselves with substantial achievements of Tatneft Company in the area of environment protection, to discuss a wide range of issues and to share their advanced experience with regard to the industrial ecology.

*  *  *
Commercial oil has been produced in the south-eastern part of Tatarstan for over 60 years; over 3 billion tonnes of crude have been produced in the republic during that period.
Tatneft Company fully recognizes the extent of its responsibility for environmental safety of the region, and it possesses wide experience of environment protection activity. Vapor recovery technology has been developed and implemented by the company, thus, pollutant emission has been reduced fourfold in recent years.

The associated gas recovery factor in Tatneft Company is one of the highest in the industry. In general, pollutant emission has been reduced by 3.5 times during the last 20 years.

Tatneft has developed and implemented pipe corrosion protection technology; the company constructed facilities for manufacturing pipes with corrosion-resistant coating. Starting from 1990-es, the number of pipeline ruptures caused by corrosion reduced by over 30 times in formation pressure maintenance systems, and by some 10 times - in oil gathering systems.
Over 500 water springs were cleaned out, tapped and restored within the area of the company's activity.

The ecological management system, as well as professional health and safety management of the company are certified according to the requirements of international standard ISO 14001:2004 and specification OHSAS 18001:1999.

The task-oriented and effective environmental protection activity of OAO Tatneft is recognized at the republican and federal levels. From year to year OAO Tatneft is recognized as absolute winner in the republican contest Ecolider. Tatneft Company is a three-time winner of EcoMir Russian National Ecological Premium. The company is a two-time laureate (in 2007 and 2008) of the Contest 100 best companies of Russia. Ecology and ecological management. In 2007, the company received the Russian National Ecological Award arranged by the State Duma of the Russian Federation and by V.I.Vernadsky Fund.