Waste management

Waste handling in KPO is focused on reducing real and potential hazards that production waste generated by the Company may pose to people and the environment.

Our target is to treat and recycle waste at our facilities, cut down waste transfer to landfills, reduce negative impact from burials, as well as to research and apply new methods and technologies.

As per the Monitoring Operating Programme, KPO performs regular Production Environmental Control (PEC) over the environmental conditions at the waste burial and accumulation sites in the Field.

In 2023, the monitoring did not reveal direct negative impact on the environmental components. As part of the Production Environmental Control, the quantitative control is exercised over the movement of waste in order to account for the burial volumes, as well as the volumes and time of waste accumulation.

The results of our work to minimize the risks of the Company’s production waste impact on the environment are presented below in the table and further in the text.

KPO processes related to production, processing and transportation of raw materials, as well as the use of special equipment, materials and other required resources, inevitably involve generation of waste.

Measures taken by KPO to reduce the volume of generated waste, to ensure compliance with environmental safety rules during the accumulation, collection and transportation, segregation, reuse, recycling, treatment and reduction of waste, including reducing their hazardous properties, as well as environmentally friendly burial – all this enables to significantly mitigate the adverse impact on people and the environment.

The KPO Waste Management Programme for 2023 provides indicators and measures to gradually reduce the accumulated and generated waste volumes and level of hazardous properties. The Company applies the following waste management methods:

• waste recovery to process stream;
• waste treatment at the Eco Centre facilities;
• waste burial at the Eco Centre facilities;
• waste handover to specialist contractor organizations for further processing, reuse or destruction.

In 2023, the total amount of waste generated at KPO facilities was 52,387 tonnes. Compared to 2022, the volume of waste in 2023 in KPO increased by 15,144 tonnes, which was mainly due to the increase of well operations, and the new development projects. Graph 26 shows all types of waste generated at KPO.

According to the Unified Republican Form of the waste information reporting system, the total volume of waste generated in 2023 included both waste generated and treated.

Graph 26.Quantity оf waste generated at KPO facilities in 2020–2023, tonnes

Waste processing and burial

The Company production and consumption wastes are treated at the Eco Center facilities or the Waste Management Complex. The facility ensures cost-efficient and environmentally safe recycling and treatment of solid waste and fluids and is considered to be an example of the best drilling waste management practice in the West Kazakhstan Oblast.

Drilling wastes are treated by means of technologies, which allow not only reducing their volume and hazards, but also recovering valuable components from them, and treating the waste for further reuse.

Waste recycling back into production process exercised by the Company is the best possible way to re-use the generated waste.

The KPO Eco Centre comprises five waste treatment facilities, as well as a Landfill for its safe disposal.

During 2023, all Waste Management Programme (WMP) measures scheduled for 2023 including waste segregation, reuse, processing and reduction of their quantities and hazardous properties, were implemented throughout the year. During 2023 the following activities have been implemented:

Tab. 45.Eco Centre facilities and recycling activities in 2023

In 2023, the Company continued to excavate wastes from the old Solid Waste and Spent Drilling Fluids Storage Site for further treatment at the Thermo-mechanical Cutting Cleaning Facility and burial at the Solid Industrial Waste Landfill. The waste is buried at the Landfill in compliance with the RoK environmental legislation.

In 2023, 2,817 tonnes were sent for treatment from the Solid Waste and Spent Drilling Liquids Storage Site. Processing of waste from the old site is planned to be continued in 2024.

Table 44 shows the waste handling methods used by the Company in 2023.

Tab. 46.KPO waste handling methods in 2023, tonnes

The KPO waste is mainly produced during well drilling and workover activities. Whereby, depending on the type of the drilling mud used, the water or oil-based drill cuttings are generated. The solid and liquid drilling waste generated in 2023 has amounted to 17,552 tonnes (68 % of the initially generated waste, i.e., waste volume before treatment). Drilling waste volumes were significantly increased due to the growth of well operations as a result of the of a second drilling rig mobilization.

Table 47 shows the main types of drilling waste broken down by handling methods. As table shows, only water-based mud and brines are subject to disposal at the Eco-Centre cells 35 A/B, and the water-based drill cuttings to be buried at the Landfill. Oil-based drilling cuttings are subject to burying after pre-treatment and extraction of the oil base.

Tab. 47.Waste generated from well operations by handling methods, 2021–2023

Within the contract terms, the Company hands over part of the waste for recycling to specialised contractors, who make their own decision on further waste handling methods once the waste has been accepted from KPO, and report on its transfer to third parties on a quarterly basis. Depending on the type, specialised enterprises hand over the waste for treatment with subsequent production of consumer goods, demercurization, regeneration, thermal treatment, incineration, physical and chemical treatment, dismantling into component parts with further transfer to concerned enterprises as recyclables.

Based on Article 301 of the RoK Environmental Code that prohibits burial of waste plastic, plastic, polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate packaging, waste paper, cardboard, paper waste, glass cullet at the Landfills, the Company carries out sorting and segregation of such waste engaging contractors that lease office buildings to the Company. Such types of waste are then handed over to specialized enterprises to be used as recyclables.

For the whole period of the waste paper segregation from 2011 till the end of 2023, about 915 tonnes of the waste paper had been collected and handed over to local companies to produce consumer goods.

The segregation of spent batteries was arranged in all company office premises. In 2023, 133 kg of batteries collected.

Food Waste Treatment

In order to comply with the requirements of the RoK Environmental Code, during 2021–2022 KPO has implemented the most efficient way to handle food waste generated at the food facilities of the Karachaganak Field. The contract was signed for the biocomposting of food waste. In 2023, the Company handed over 242 tonnes of food waste from the food facilities of the Karachaganak Field to the food waste processing enterprise. The resulting biocompost is used in agriculture and forestry as organic fertilizers to restore and improve soil fertility.