OREANDA-NEWS. January 27, 2015. Karachaganak Petroleum Operating BV (KPO) attended the Berezovka Town Hall meeting where the RoK Government officials disclosed the findings of the recent Berezovka health incident investigation conducted by an integrated cross-departmental commission.   

Statement
We welcome the outcome of the independent investigation that show there is no evidence that the emissions from KPO’s operations were the cause of the illnesses which affect people in the village of Berezovka.   

Moreover, KPO supports the resolution that, as part of the possible further development of Karachaganak, in accordance with RoK legislation the Sanitary Protection Zone might require further reassessment. KPO looks forward to contributing to this work and will comply with all regulatory requirements.

Background to investigation
This investigation follows an incident on 28 November 2014, when schoolchildren and adults working in the school at Berezovka had fallen ill. KPO did not experience any operational concerns that could have led to the release of emissions that were potentially dangerous for people’s health.

Moreover, a network of Environmental Monitoring Stations (EMSs) installed in the field and at the Sanitary Protection Zone (SPZ) boundaries, did not reveal any anomaly in the air quality.

KPO remains committed to achieving the highest standards of environment and safety performance and compliance with the applicable RoK legislation and regulations.

KPO continuously monitors for any emissions through a sophisticated data gathering and monitoring mechanism. If there is any exceedance, this will trigger our emergency response system.  The monitoring data is regularly provided to relevant state authorities and local community.

Within the Karachaganak field area and SPZ there are 18 fully automatic EMSs.  11 EMSs are located around the SPZ perimeter, four are within the SPZ, one is located close to Karachaganak Processing Complex and a further two stations are installed directly within Berezovka village.  Two mobile EMSs are also used to support any complaints on odour and allow flexibility of monitoring locations.

This year, despite the aggravated economic situation and falling revenues, KPO will continue investing into safety and environment safeguards, and the development of local content and social infrastructure.

KPO will also continue its contacts with Berezovka residents as part of the village council and grievance redress processes. The health of the Karachaganak Field neighbouring communities will always be one of the Company’s top priorities.