OAO Samotlorneftegaz (part of TNK-BP Group) increased the efficiency of oil tanks cleanout procedure thus significantly reducing associated environmental impact. Application of new technology allowed to reduce the volumes of oil sludge formation by 10 times. As a result, economic benefits amounted to 8.7 million rubles (approx. 268,000 USD).

 

In the framework of a program that addresses implementation of new environmental protection technologies OAO Samotlorneftegaz realized a pilot project that included implementation of MegaMax oil sludge removal complex for cleaning of 18 oil tanks. The aforecited technology allowed reducing the amount of oil sludge, which is usually formed during the process of oil tank cleanout, tenfold (up to the value of 23 cubic meters). The latter, by the way, is used for oil storage before its further transportation via a pipeline. The remaining volume of residues is separated into water and oil (using specialized equipment). TNK-BP plans to perform cleanout of 40 oil tanks by the end of 2012.

 

"The advantages of new technology are obvious: first of all, it allows to recycle raw hydrocarbons that were previously nonrecoverable. Secondly, the duration of the cleanout procedure is reduced twofold (up to 3 days) and it’s not longer necessary to build waste pits for storage and disposal of petroleum residues. Our goal is to find and implement efficient methods of environmental impact reduction," said Elena Kompasenko, vice-president, TNK-BP, HSE Department.

 

TNK-BP is Russia’s third largest oil company and is owned by BP and the AAR consortium (Alfa Group/Access Industries/Renova) on a parity basis. Additionally, TNK-BP owns approximately 50% of the Russian oil and gas company Slavneft. TNK-BP’s share in Russia’s oil production (including its share in Slavneft) is about 16%. The Company’s total proved SEC LOF reserves are 9.115 billion BOE as of December 31, 2011.