On December 13,
2023, a meeting on environmental protection was held in Novorossiysk, focusing
on areas adjacent to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s (CPC) marine terminal,
the city, and the Black Sea area. The event was organized by CPC in response to
local residents' requests during the earlier roundtable discussion “Environmental
Protection of the Port City", held on April 26, 2023.The meeting
brought together representatives of the city administration, CPC management and
specialists, environmental activities, local residents, and media
correspondents. Topics discussed included the results of monitoring volatile
organic compounds (VOCs) in the atmosphere near CPC's marine terminal, research
findings on the water environment along the coast of Cape Abram, and other
current issues related to ecological safety.
The director of the
Novorossiysk Research and Education Marine Biological Center of the Kuban State
University, Irina Matasova with a degree in geology and mineralogy, presented
the results of studies of the ecosystem of the Black Sea in the vicinity of the
CPC marine terminal, carried out from September 2021 to March 2022, as well as
the results of production environmental monitoring of sea water for 2022-2023.
It was noted that the flora and fauna of the studied rea, in terms of its
qualitative and quantitative composition, is typical for the corresponding
depths and soil composition, has typical characteristics for the corresponding
seasons. The pollution of sediments and bottom deposits with oil products in
the study area does not exceed 50 mg/km.
Timofey Barabashin,
head of the scientific direction of the Azov-Black Sea Branch of FGBUN VNIRO,
with a degree in biology, acquainted the audience with the long-term dynamics
of the state of pollution of marine water with oil products and the state of
bottom deposits on the shelf of the northeastern part of the Black Sea, as well
as current methods for detecting oil spills.
During her
presentation, the environmental manager of CPC-R, Arinal Nikolaeva with a
degree in geography, detailed the progress of the Plan of Measures for Reducing
Atmospheric Emissions during Oil Loading at the CPC Marine Terminal, She also
discussed the results of scientific research and ongoing initiatives, such as
reducing tanker loading rates during unfavorable weather conditions and monitoring
sulfur compounds and hydrogen sulfide levels on board loading vessels.
During
inspections, any vessels found to be in violation of emission standards are not
permitted to load. Additionally, vessels that consistently generate numerous
complaints from the local public about unpleasant odors are subjected to
additional atmospheric monitoring in their tanks.
Participants
raised several questions during the meeting, which were answered
comprehensively by the experts. The dialog was conducted in a positive and
transparent manner in line with CPC’s commitment to environmental protection.
For information:
CPC Pipeline System is one of the major investment
projects with foreign capital in energy sector in the CIS. The length of the
Tengiz – Novorossiysk pipeline is 1,511 km. This route transports over
two-thirds of all Kazakhstan export crude, as well as crude from Russian oil
fields, including those in the Caspian Region. CPC Marine Terminal is equipped
with three Single Point Moorings (SPM) that allow to load tankers safely at a
significant distance offshore, also amid poor weather conditions.
CPC Shareholders: Federal Agency for State Property
Management represented by PJSC Transneft (trust management) – 24 %, IC CPC
Company LLC – 7%, JSC NC KazmunayGas – 19%, Kazakhstan Pipeline Ventures LLC –
1.75%, Chevron Caspian Pipeline Consortium Company – 15%, LUKARCO B.V. – 12.5%,
Mobil Caspian Pipeline Company – 7.5%, Rosneft-Shell Caspian Ventures Limited –
7.5%, BG Overseas Holding Limited – 2%, Eni International N.A. N.V. S.ar.l. –
2% and Oryx Caspian Pipeline LLC – 1.75%.