Azerbaijan has 15,000 heavily oil polluted lands, SOCAR cleaned only 1,300 hectares

Since 2006 SOCAR has re-cultivated 1,300 hectares of oil polluted lands, Rovnag Abdullayev, SOCAR President, said at the international conference “Global Look at Environment in Oil Industry” in Baku. 

He said during this period SOCAR has planted 600,000 trees. It has also created the Eco-park, which has 200,000 trees that can survive in the Azerbaijani climate. 

Abdullayev said that thanks to the work done by SOCAR associated gas emission into the atmosphere decreased by 560 million cub.m. Owing to the work done by BP since 2010 the emission of associated gas from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) fields and at the Sangachal oil terminal into the atmosphere reduced by 2%. SOCAR President also said that the Centre of Waste Management is created as a part of the long-term “Waste Management” strategy. 

Azerbaijan Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Huseyngulu Bagirov said that SOCAR has a serious ecological heritage left from the Soviet Union and these problems cannot be solved within a short period of time. “Active oil production has led to pollution of 35,000 hectares of   lands, of which 15,000 hectares are heavy polluted.1.5 billion tons of oil has been extracted during the history of oil industry in Azerbaijan, of which majority onshore,” Bagirov said.—0—