BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 27
By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:
Kulevi oil terminal of Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR has conducted second quarter environmental self-monitoring, Trend reports citing the terminal’s website.
According to the agreement between Black Sea Terminal LLC and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia (MoE), BST is obliged to conduct environmental monitoring of BST facilities and the adjacent areas.
After second quarter monitoring was conducted, all parameters were found to be within the respective limits. As for the noise levels in major BST facilities such as the pump station, boiler and workshop, the use of ear protection for personnel is recommended.
Besides the quarterly environmental self-monitoring, the Environmental Team collects various kinds of data form different departments – namely fuel and raw material consumption, pump and generator running hours, amount of dredged material, product turnover, the amount of used chemicals, electricity consumption, water consumption, waste generation amounts and so on. All collected and measured data are analyzed, and is compiled in monthly and quarterly reports. Finally, all data is collected and placed into an annual environmental report and is sent to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia.
The environmental monitoring process is described in the Environmental Monitoring and Measurement scheme approved by the MoE.
Environmental monitoring is aimed at measuring, controlling and mitigating any negative influence on the environment resulting from the operation of BST Terminal.
Quarterly environmental monitoring includes soil and water sampling, noise level and air-quality monitoring at BST sites and adjacent areas.
Water monitoring includes the sampling of water from BST water treatment facilities, adjacent rivers and port channels. Water is sampled against common pollutants certified by a laboratory, including total petroleum hydrocarbons, ammonium nitrogen etc.
Soil samples are tested against total petroleum hydrocarbon content. Soil samples are taken from BST sites from places with the possibility of contamination. Analysis is done using the chromatography method in a certified laboratory.
Noise level is measured in major BST facilities including pump stations and workshops. Additionally, background noise level is measured at the nearest inhabited locality and Kulevi Secondary school to determine the level of influence of noise resulting from operation of the BST terminal. Specialized equipment is used for noise level measurements.
In order to control the maximally allowable concentration of air pollutants outside the terminal and at the workplace:
Air quality is also monitored at BST sites and at the nearest inhabited locality. The total amount of hydrocarbons and benzene are monitored with a photoionization detector.
In order for the results to be comparable, GPS coordinates of all sampling points are recorded. Additionally, meteorological conditions such as air temperature, atmospheric pressure, wind speed, and wind direction are recorded.
The terminal is used for shipment of crude oil, fuel oil, diesel fuel, gas oil, methanol, aviation fuel, propylene, liquid pyrolysis resin, naphtha, isopropyl alcohol, diesel fuel with ultra-low sulfur content, industrial oil, and condensate.
The terminal in the Kulevi port was put into operation in May 2008, and the transshipment of oil products was launched in June. The total capacity of the terminal is 10 million tons of liquid bulk oil cargo per year, including three million tons of oil, three million tons of diesel fuel, and four million tons of fuel oil. The total capacity of the tank farm of the terminal is 402,000 cubic meters.
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