Protecting the environment
Iguanas are common at BP sites in Casanare
Managing the environment of Casanare is one area where BP has progressed year on year, in synchronization with a very steep learning curve. Two decades ago, sheer project size produced mistrust among inhabitants, for whom our industry was synonymous to pollution, deforestation and a generally deteriorated environment.
Irrespective of whether perceptions were based on fact or on culturally ingrained beliefs, and despite the fact that Casanare's delicate eco-systems had endured human intervention for years prior to BP's discoveries, action was clearly required.
It is fact that our industry has come a long way in terms of developing environmentally sound procedures and adopting safer technologies as they have become available. What was done years ago, with the resources on hand at the time, is no longer the preferred recipe because innovative technology, greater know-how, improved procedures and certainly increased awareness have rendered many processes inadequate under today's standards. Simply put, yesterday's accepted practices have been substituted by others that generate less environmental impact.
Irrespective of whether perceptions were based on fact or on culturally ingrained beliefs, and despite the fact that Casanare's delicate eco-systems had endured human intervention for years prior to BP's discoveries, action was clearly required.
It is fact that our industry has come a long way in terms of developing environmentally sound procedures and adopting safer technologies as they have become available. What was done years ago, with the resources on hand at the time, is no longer the preferred recipe because innovative technology, greater know-how, improved procedures and certainly increased awareness have rendered many processes inadequate under today's standards. Simply put, yesterday's accepted practices have been substituted by others that generate less environmental impact.
Colombia's approach: the Integrated Management System
Over the past 20 years BP has developed strict environmental guidelines, drawing from existing standards, creating its own and implementing procedures for all hydrocarbon-related activities.In Colombia, the specific platform for health, safety and environmental performance is the Integrated Management System (IMS), which brings together both the ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18000 standards.
Developed and refined over the last decade, the IMS provides a structured vehicle for dealing with simultaneous environmental issues, and its aim is to prevent, control, mitigate, reduce, or eliminate the impact of our operations on the environment in Casanare.
Organized into programmes, the IMS includes one called "Efficient natural resource management" that sets out specific goals, targets, activities and parties responsible for delivery in the areas of: Air; Community; Drilling & Workover residue and discharges; Energy efficiency; Liabilities; Flaring and venting; Ozone; Waste management; Water management; and Green Office.
Quarterly reviews and yearly internal audits of the IMS are executed to verify progress against performance indicators or identify opportunities for improvement. This regular assessment allows recommendations for adjusting the system's objectives. Complementing, the IMS also facilitates orderly application of the experience, learning and lessons collected over these twenty years.
Colombia's Integrated Management System has been widely recognized within the BP Group as being worthy of replication in other sites.
Producing results while producing oil
BP's policy is simple: zero damage to the environment. Under the IMS framework, multiple activities have been carried out to this effect, producing positive results that include among others:* Control in greenhouse gas emissions
* Reduction in the use of gases that affect the ozone layer
* Substantial savings in domestic water consumption
* Reuse of industrial water on drilling sites
* Soil recovery along pipeline routes
* Increase in solid wastes recycling
* Integrated management of river basins
* Research and documentation of Casanare's biodiversity
Working together for the environment
During our time in Colombia, the Ministry of the Environment has issued the company over 120 licenses. These permits have both allowed the development of a world-class project, and have also established BP's obligations relative to the restoration of and respect for the environment in Casanare.From constant interaction with regulatory bodies, BP has learned that it is fundamental to work hand in hand with both regional and national environmental authorities in order to pinpoint specific activities, clarify priorities and even agree on joint initiatives.
It is within this understanding and as part of its environmental commitment that the company has invested over 170 million dollars in environmental conservation programs, both inside our facilities and beyond the perimeter fence.
Activities like reforesting more than 700 hectares, helping to recover the Cusiana and Unete River basins, inventorying the useful plants of the Orinoco River basin and studying and regulating main hydrographic basins are specific contributions to environmental recovery that have been amply discussed and decided together with Casanare's environmental agency, Corporinoquia.
Today's mutually beneficial relationship with Corporinoquia is a testament to private and public sector cooperation, and evidences that BP is committed to doing things the right way. Perhaps it is this attitude as well as solid and verifiable indicators that led Corporinoquia to give BP in 2006 its yearly Award for Environmental Performance, above other operators present in the wider Casanare region.
Environmental miscellanea
* Colombian courts have ruled favourably on lawsuits against operational activities (flaring and water intake).
* Substitution of materials in geo-technical activities has helped biodiversity.
* Technology transfer and social benefit: BP handing over management of own landfill to Municipality of Tauramena; resulting cost reduction.
* Despite legal authorization to perform discharges under certain parameters, BP does no discharging of produced water. Effective control measures include water re-circulation, lower consumption and overall process efficiency.
* Integration of planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance phases ensure better project outcome.
* Environmental considerations outweigh technical ones.
