Our activities generate solid and liquid waste, including hazardous waste, such as oily sludge, waste chemicals, catalysts, contaminated soil and construction debris. Examples of non-hazardous waste include concrete not containing dangerous substances, welding waste, water-based drilling wastes, as well as municipal waste, paper and metal. Our approach to waste management follows a hierarchy of priorities, namely, first prevent waste where possible; then reuse, recover and recycle it; and only as a last resort, dispose of it safely.
In 2020, OMV Petrom generated 537,855 t of total waste (2019: 527,928 t). We valorised (diverted from disposal by recycling, recovery and preparing for use) 77% of the total waste generated throughout the year. The total waste amounts cover both production waste and waste from one-time projects.
The scope of total waste for OMV Petrom covers all operated assets and those with more than 50% stake, excluding OMV Petrom Retail for which the process of data reporting is under development.
The hazardous waste amounted to 379,855 t and mainly included soil from wells and facilities abandonment and tank sludge, whereas non-hazardous waste included scrap metals and clean concrete from decommissioning activities.
In 2020, from the contaminated soil treated in our bioremediation plants, 88% resulted as bio remediated soil for use as backfill material, and 12% resulted as non-hazardous soil waste that qualified for landfill disposal.
In Upstream, we no longer use diesel-based drilling fluids and strive to select the most environmentally friendly solutions. Wherever technically feasible, we use water-based drilling fluids with a 65% water cut. Where technical requirements do not allow this (e.g., extended-reach wells), we use non-aqueous drilling fluids (NADF). We reuse drilling mud wherever practicable, treat and dispose of cuttings as per law, and use the best available technology.
In 2020, we generated 54,060 t of drilling mud and cuttings, out of which 86% were water-based (2019: 76%).
The scope of total waste for OMV Petrom covers all operated assets and those with more than 50% stake, excluding OMV Petrom Retail for which the process of data reporting is under development.
The hazardous waste amounted to 379,855 t and mainly included soil from wells and facilities abandonment and tank sludge, whereas non-hazardous waste included scrap metals and clean concrete from decommissioning activities. We apply best practices for the management of drilling waste in Upstream. For example, in Asset Crișana, we continued to provide our contractor with inert drill cuttings from the water-based drilling waste to serve as stabilization agent of other waste. This waste is further used as a cover layer in non-hazardous waste landfills or disposed to landfill. Whenever possible, we reuse the spent water-based drilling mud for drilling new wells or abandon old wells in accordance with legal requirements. This approach helps to avoid the generation of drilling waste by our Company. It also brings additional environmental benefits by preventing waste, preserving the natural resources (e.g., water, bentonite, and others), and decreasing the carbon footprint in the supply chain. In 2020, the Oltenia, Muntenia, Moesia, Muntenia Vest Assets were among the Upstream’s Assets that reused the spent water-based drilling mud for well abandonment and drilling new wells.
See more in “Peformance in detail“
Site decommissioning and closure
The OMV Petrom Group Environmental Management Standard requires that environmental and social components are identified for the entire life cycle of facilities, including decommissioning and abandonment, so that any future adaptation measures are identified and planned for.
For example, in Upstream, the works for surface abandonment comprise demolition, dismantling, cleaning, remediation and site restoration to the initial state. To meet the compliance obligations, we engage with all relevant stakeholders (e.g., Environmental Protection Agency, National Agency for Mineral Resources, City Hall/ County Council, State Construction Inspectorate, National Environmental Guard, Landowner), including for defining the desirable closure goals. We comply with the technical requirements specified by law (e.g., secure well plugging and capping) in terms of well abandonment. With respect to environmental protection, we comply with the obligations established by the Environmental Protection Agency, which certified this after the completion of our work. In Downstream Oil, we continued the high performance on waste recovery rate out of demolition projects. We achieved 99% waste recovery rate out of demolition projects in Hunedoara county, respectively Deva fuel terminal and Deva railway as well as the Petrobrazi refinery, which were finalized in 2020.
Site restoration for old Fuel Terminals – responsible management to the end-life of operations
In 2020 we continued the cleaning, remediation and ecological reconstruction works for nine former Fuel Terminals, which started in 2019. These added to 30 former Fuel Terminals of which sites were brought to previous condition, according to the legal provisions, in 2019. As a result, besides around 137,000 m3 contaminated soil/subsoil with petroleum products generated and treated in 2019, in 2020 around 145,000 m3 contaminated soil and subsoil /subsoil were generated and treated by site-specific methods, as provided by the related project’s solution, in line with best practice (e.g., bioremediation technologies off-site, on-site, in-situ, in-situ with injection). We achieved a recovery rate of 99% for the contaminated soil treated, which we further used for on-site backfills or directed to other authorized locations. We performed periodic monitoring during and after site rehabilitation, as requested for each site by the environmental authorities. For example, during site rehabilitation, we took samples of soil/subsoil and groundwater monitoring in each phase of the project (e.g., excavation, bioremediation). We monitored the quality of soil/subsoil and/or underground water after site rehabilitation when requested by the environmental authority. We also monitor the site status (e.g., land covering by grass, soil compaction) on a quarterly basis during one year after our works are finalized.