Atmospheric Air Protection
Gazprom makes every effort to reduce pollutant emissions from hydrocarbon production, processing, and transportation. Emissions management is part of its corporate environmental protection and sustainability strategy, which reflects provisions of the Russian Energy Strategy through 2030 and the Russian Ecological Doctrine.
The planned/target indicators are set for each type of PJSC Gazprom’s operations based on significant environmental aspects. In the reporting year, PJSC Gazprom identified its significant environmental aspects.
Gazprom reduces its pollutant emissions by relying on mobile compressor stations to pump gas. In addition, it uses hot tapping and technology of blowing gas from the sections under repairs into neighboring active pipelines. Gas production subsidiaries conduct well surveys without releasing natural gas into the air and make use of multi-component surfactant compositions to better remove reservoir fluids from well bottom holes, which helps reduce gas emissions into the air. To cut down on its nitrogen oxide emissions, Gazprom applies selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides from waste gases.
The Gazprom Group regularly monitors methane emissions and controls gas leaks – this is the responsibility of PJSC Gazprom’s Environmental Inspectorate.
Gazprom makes active use of mobile environmental laboratories that have cutting-edge analytical equipment to monitor atmospheric air, physical environmental factors, meteorological parameters, as well as industrial emissions from various sources. Lab personnel conduct visual surveys of the territories where the Gazprom Group's facilities are located using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Photos and videos obtained by UAVs make the monitoring process faster and more effective and also ensure coverage of rough terrains.
For more details on the Gazprom Group’s efforts to monitor methane leaks, see the Reductions in Methane Emissions subsection.
| Indicator | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | Change 2023/2022, % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hydrocarbons (including methane) | 1,193.49 | 1,048.24 | 1,125.77 | +7.4 |
| Carbon monoxide | 642.07 | 540.64 | 556.03 | +2.8 |
| Nitrogen oxides | 341.60 | 270.02 | 262.85 | –2.7 |
| Sulfur dioxide | 169.72 | 150.45 | 125.12 | –16.8 |
| Volatile organic compounds | 107.82 | 109.90 | 99.19 | –9.7 |
| Solids | 50.05 | 34.16 | 42.38 | +24.1 |
| Other gaseous and liquid substances | 1.56 | 1.84 | 2.11 | –13.6 |
| Total | 2,506.31 | 2,155.25 | 2,213.45 | +2.7 |
Flaring of associated petroleum gas (APG) is linked to high emissions of GHG and pollutants. Minimizing APG flaring remains an important environmental challenge for the oil and gas industry. The Gazprom Group continues its efforts to cut down on flaring and is gradually progressing towards its corporate target (95% APG utilization). The Gazprom Group's investment projects that make a contribution to this goal include transportation and supply of APG to gas processing plants and the UGSS of the Russian Federation, APG processing, generation of heat and electricity for the Gazprom Group’s internal needs, and APG injection into the gas cap to maintain reservoir pressure. In 2023, APG utilization level across fields of the Gazprom Group was 94.75%, an increase of 0.55 p.p.
| Indicator | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | Change 2023/2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| APG utilization, % | 90.1 | 94.2 | 94.7 | +0.5 p.p. |
| APG flaring across the Gazprom Group, mcm | 2,338.4 | 1,498.6 | 1,588.2 | +6.0% |