Global Compact International Yearbook Ausgabe 2013

Sakhalin Energy
Implementation of the
Biodiversity Action Plan
on Sakhalin Island
By Andrey Samatov, Valentina Andreeva, Alexey Vladimirov, and Elena Arkhipova, Sakhalin Energy
As the first company in Russia to start shelf hydrocarbons production from offshore iceresistant
platforms and liquefied natural gas production, Sakhalin Energy can be justifiably
proud of its achievements in the field of environmental protection. The environmental
control, local monitoring, and conservation of biodiversity programs implemented by
Sakhalin Energy are among best practices and are aimed at minimizing the impacts on the
unique ecosystems of Sakhalin Island.
When carrying out any work, one of our
foremost priorities is to comply with
Russian and international requirements.
The Company undertakes a large number
of long-term programs and reviews the
environmental conditions in the vicinity
of the project facilities while monitoring
flora and vegetation, avifauna, mammals,
soil, ground waters, river ecosystems,
and the marine environment. These
priorities are reflected in Sakhalin Energy’s
Sustainable Development Policy,
Commitments and Policy on HSE and
Social Performance, Biodiversity Standard,
among other things.
In 2008 the Company developed an integrated
Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP). In
a way, this plan became the end result
of the Company’s multi-year efforts for
environmental preservation. The plan
systematizes the Company’s experience
and simultaneously defines further actions
to be taken under environmental
monitoring and adverse impact mitigation.
It describes the framework and rationale
to support monitoring programs
that Sakhalin Energy, its stakeholders,
government authorities, and project
lenders believe are important – not
only because it provides environmental
protection, but also because it makes
good business sense.
The Biodiversity Action Plan includes
programs to preserve the most important
rare and threatened species (gray whales,
the Steller’s Sea Eagle, Hucho perryi) as
well as programs for the conservation
of particularly vulnerable ecosystems
(e. g., wetlands, area of protected bird
colonies adjacent to the Chayvo lagoon,
and the coastal zone of Aniva Bay around
the Prigorodnoye production complex).
Sakhalin Energy’s BAP was approved by
the Biodiversity Expert Working Group
of the Sakhalin Oblast Environmental
Council and was highly praised by independent
international experts and
Sakhalin-2 project lenders. Thus, the
BAP implementation is supported by all
stakeholders at both the national and
international levels. Below are short
descriptions of some of those programs.
• Gray whales
Every summer a small gray whale group
feeds off the northeast coast of Sakhalin,
near the Piltun-Astokhskoye oil-gas
field. This proximity obliges Sakhalin
Energy to take enhanced environmental
protection measures in its offshore
activities. Recognizing the potential
impact, Sakhalin Energy – together
with Exxon Neftegaz Ltd., the operator
of Sakhalin-1 – has been financing
programs to study and monitor the
gray whales since 1996.
In association with the IUCN
Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel,
initiated by Sakhalin Energy in 2004,
the Company has used the data from
these studies to draw up and implement
a plan for monitoring and mitigat-
128 Global Compact International Yearbook 2013