NEWS

Combustion of APG (Associated Petroleum Gas) on flares leads to emissions of millions of tons of pollutants into the atmosphere. As a result of flaring of associated gas in our country, on average, one tonne of oil produced accounts for about 8 kg of emissions of harmful substances, which are localized primarily in production regions. When burning APG, soot, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, 3,4-benzpyrene, "slipped hydrocarbons", benzene, phosgene, toluene, heavy metals (mercury, arsenic, chromium), sulfurous anhydride and others form. It is also important that when APG is burned, greenhouse gases are formed that affect the climate of the planet (see theme "Greenhouse gases and climate change").

The thermal pollution from flaring of associated petroleum gas is also great, which is felt at a distance of up to 5 km from the flare unit and affects the meteorological and climatic conditions. Pollutants, after entering the atmosphere, are carried by the air flow in a gaseous, liquid and solid (aerosol) state. One of the main sources of air pollution in the regions in which the oil industry is developed and developed is the flaring of APG in flare plants.  

According to some estimates, the total area of disturbed soils from the impact of burning flares is about 100 thousand hectares. Near the flares, as a result of exposure to high temperatures in a radius of 20-200 m, there is an almost complete burning of the organic matter of the humus-accumulative horizons, the structure and granulometric composition of the soils is changing. In the case of burning or unburned (drip) oil in the flare emissions, the top layers of the soil are bituminized.
Chemical degradation caused by the entry into the soil of various compounds is manifested in the violation of geochemical balance, including carbon-nitrogen, in the change in the migration capacity of many macro- and microelements, in the inclusion of many toxic compounds in man-made flows.
As far as the distance from the torch, the degree of transformation of the soil from the thermal effect decreases.

If the halo of contamination of soils by chemical compounds as a result of burning associated gas can be determined fairly accurately, then the identification of the source of water pollution is problematic.
This is due, first, to a multitude of sources of potential contamination of surface and groundwater in the development of the oil field, and secondly, the dynamism of the processes.
Thus, from the moment hydrocarbons enter the aqueous medium, their evaporation, dissolution and other processes begin. It was also found that mineral salts dissolved in water can play the role of a catalyst for the oxidation process.
The use of flare gas as a source product can significantly improve the ecological situation in the region.

1. An agreement was concluded with PJSC «Gazprom» on the connection of the enterprise to the network of gas pipelines for the implementation of constant supplies of flare gas.
2. An agreement was reached to acquire a land plot for the location of an enterprise in the Orenburg Region with an area of 12.59 hectares, which borders on the land plot on which the gas processing plant of «Gazprom dobycha Orenburg», PJSC «Gazprom», is located.