OREANDA-NEWS. JSOC Bashneft and the Government of Bashkortostan signed an Agreement on protecting the atmosphere. The agreement was signed by the President of Bashneft Alexander Korsik representing the Company and the Deputy Prime Minister Ernst Isaev.

The Agreement defines the parties’ obligations related to improving the air quality in Ufa. For instance, JSOC Bashneft has assumed the obligation to install automated air pollution sensors at the Company’s refineries in Ufa by the end of the year and transmit the readings in real time to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Bashkortostan and Ufa Administration. Bashneft will also assist in constructing two automatic air pollution monitoring stations at the border of the northern industrial hub of Ufa before the end of 2014.

In its turn, the Government of Bashkortostan has assumed the obligation to consider the possibility of removing enterprises polluting the air from the northern industrial hub and locating them outside the residential area of Ufa.

‘We are satisfied with the Agreement that we have signed; by implementing it together, we will be able to get a clear picture of air pollution sources in Ufa and this will contribute to the environmental protection for the benefit of the city residents,’ emphasized Bashneft’s President Alexander Korsik. ‘Active modernization of production facilities and introduction of state-of-the-art technologies minimizing the impact of the Company’s operations on the environment of Bashkortostan will remain high on the Company’s agenda.’

JSOC Bashneft’s Plan on modernization of production and introduction of advanced technologies for mitigating the adverse impact on the atmosphere forms an integral part of the Agreement. The Plan stipulates the implementation of several projects involving the development and re-equipment of the Company’s refining capacities; investments in the projects will total over 21.3 billion roubles in the next five years.