OREANDA-NEWS. LUKOIL presented a draft 2014-2018 Environmental Safety Program, in Moscow.

The event was attended by representatives of the Federation Council, the RF State Duma, the RF Ministry of Energy, the RF Ministry of Natural Resources. the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resource Usage (Rosprirodnadzor), Greenpeace-Russia, UNO Program in Russia, the Bureau Veritas Certification Company, enterprises of the Russian Fuel and Energy Sector and also of consulting and public environmental organizations.

The program sets the following priorities:

utilization of newly generated waste in a ratio of at least 1:1 (waste disposed to waste generated);

utilization of old (pre-privatization) losses;

minimum 95-percent utilization of associated petroleum gas by 2015;

further improvement of the pollution-accounting system and reduced emissions of greenhouse gases;

increased production of Euro-5-compliant eco-friendly fuel;

prevention of emergency situations and preparedness for emergency response, reclamation of impaired and contaminated land plots;

introduction of automated systems of industrial environmental monitoring;

compliance with national and international requirements regarding the level of environmental impact as a result of the activities of LUKOIL Group organizations, including those operating outside of Russia.

The 2014-2018 program provides for more than 600 measures with the total cost exceeding RUR 140 billion.

As part of the 2009-2013 Environmental Safety Program, LUKOIL had allocated roughly RUR 115 billion to its implementation. This ensured a 95-percent utilization level of associated petroleum gas at the company's enterprises in West Siberia, in the Baltic and in the Lower Volga regions, including the Northern Caspian Sea. Also, the money allocated allowed the enterprises to halve the volume of generated waste registered on their books and considerably reduce the levels of water consumption and water disposal.

In September and October this year, LUKOIL presented its 2014-2018 Environmental Safety Program to representatives of state organizations, the general public and mass media in the Northwestern, Southern, Urals and Volga Federal Okrugs.

“It is remarkable that LUKOIL presents its fifth, milestone, Environmental Safety Program this year, announced the Year of Environmental Protection by virtue of the RF President's Decree,” Ravil Maganov, LUKOIL's First Executive Vice President, noted.