WSSD Report FINAL! - OGP

CONTRIBUTING TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Waste management
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In refining, sludge coking is a recognized
and widely used practice in which the
heavy organic constituents in refinery waste
are converted to petroleum coke while
light hydrocarbons and water are
vapourized, recovered and reused. Refiners
have optimized their processes by recycling
oily wastes during part of the coker cycle,
or by transforming recovered hydrocarbons
into asphalt, which can then be offered to
local communities for use as road surfacing.
Prevention of gas or fumes from escaping into the
atmosphere is an overriding objective in all our
operations, including production, refining and
product transfer. Venting and flaring have been
significantly reduced in all of these activities.
Changes to operating procedures and installation of
vapour recovery units have also reduced atmospheric
discharges from tanker loading operations,
product distribution, terminals and fuelling stations.
Crude oil undergoes a variety of specialized
transformations in refineries to turn it into a
wide assortment of products. The process of
removing naturally occurring impurities from
raw crude unavoidably results in the generation
of by-products that must be managed—either
by recycling, treatment or disposal.The majority
of recycling residuals fall into three categories:
● Substances added to absorb petroleum
contaminants such as hydrogen sulphide,
which are then removed;
● Micro-organisms used to purify water
needed during the refining process;
● Solids present in crude oil or generated
either in the process of cleaning up spills or
excavating refinery construction sites.
Over the past 15 years, refineries have documented
the effective measures they have taken to
operate more efficiently, conserving resources
and generating less waste for disposal. According
to the most recent data, refineries now recycle
62 per cent of refinery residuals versus 26 per
Operational discharges of oil into the marine
environment from European production
platforms have been reduced by 64 per cent
cent in 1985. Solvents, resins and other materials
are restored for re-use within the refinery or
elsewhere. Another 21 per cent of refinery residuals
are treated to reduce their volume and/or
toxicity before disposal. The volume of refinery
residuals sent for direct disposal fell from 28 per
cent in 1985 to 18 per cent in 1997.
A large portion of our products is used in
motor vehicles, which are an indispensable fact
of life for a significant part of the global population.
Motor oil does not wear out. It just gets
dirty. Therefore, what we do with the used oil
from these vehicles plays an important role in
balancing our desire for convenient transportation
with the imperative for a clean and healthy
environment now and in the future. By recycling
used motor oil we keep it out of rivers,
lakes, streams and ground water. In many cases
that means keeping it out of our drinking
water, off our beaches and away from wildlife.
Our industry is promoting the development of
multiple recovery and reuse operations for used oil
such as burning for energy recovery or re-refining
to base lubricants oil using modern technology.
Many regional petroleum industry associations
around the world have instituted used oil management
programmes to educate consumers that oil
taken to a collection centre for recycling saves
energy and conserves natural resources.
Reprocessing is the most common method of
recycling used oil in the US. Each year processors
treat approximately 750 million gallons of
used oil. Some 75 per cent of used oil is being
processed and marketed and another 14 per
cent is turned over to re-refiners who return
used oil to its virgin state.
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