ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION DURING EXPLORATION AND EXPLOITATION OF OIL AND GAS FIELDS

Abstract

Estimates of oil pollution show that every year, the surface of the globe is polluted by 30 million tons of oil. That is equivalent to the loss of one large oil field. Annual average oil losses in Russia alone are estimated to be 12 million tons in the last 2–3 decades. Lately, in Russia, up to 40,000 damages occur at the field pipelines of which at least 20 are significantly large. In the Komi Republic, an area of pastures damaged as a result of oil production totalled 17,200 hectares; in Western Siberia, up to 12.5% of all pastures are also damaged as a consequence of oil and gas field development. The author proposes to subdivide all the known oil and gas field types on the degree of their potential danger during field exploitation into five groups. This classification is the basis for constructing new environmental maps. These maps suggest that there is a potential for environmental damage by hydrocarbon field exploitation on the Timan-Pechora and Western Siberia provinces. It is indicated that it is necessary to create a defense system against oil pollution at all the stages of oil and gas field development. This system must include environmental audit monitoring, prevention of environmental pollution, and rehabilitation of soil and surface water. The characteristic of measures on pollution prevention, including engineer-technical, judicial measures, and the measures of prevention character, is given in the report. The last is illustrated by the technology of production and refining of high-viscosity, sulphurous, metal-bearing oils. The description of one effective biological cleanup method, based on the application of NAPHTOX biopreparation and created at the VNIGRI, is given. Recommendations on accidental oil spill prediction and combating measures are discussed.