Dmitry Konov

Chairman of SIBUR’s Management Board

Today, the government pays special attention to associated petroleum gas (APG) utilisation. SIBUR makes a significant contribution to prevent its flaring by offering oil producers a safe and cost-efficient solution, i.e. APG processing into high-demand petrochemicals.

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On 5 April 2017, Sergei Ivanov, Special Presidential Representative for Environmental Protection, Ecology and Transport, together with Dmitry Konov, Chairman of SIBUR’s Management Board, Vladimir Yakushev, Governor of the Tyumen Region, and Alexander Kozlov, Governor of the Amur Region, visited the operating facilities of SIBUR’s Tobolsk site and the construction site of ZapSibNeftekhim, which is to become Russia’s largest petrochemical facility.

The key focus of the visit was on environmental safety of petrochemical facilities and on how they can help other industries to reduce polluting emissions. Last year, SIBUR processed over 22 bcm of APG, preventing almost 7 mt of СО₂ from being discharged into air.

ZapSibNeftekhim plans to carry on with the deep conversion of by-products of the oil and gas extracted in West Siberia and to launch the production of polymers that enjoy the greatest demand in the Russian market to replace their imported counterparts.

SIBUR’s plants are environmentally safe thanks to the use of closed-loop production and water systems. To control emission levels in Tobolsk, the dedicated laboratory is continuously monitoring air quality at fixed and mobile monitoring stations. After reviewing the monitoring results, Sergei Ivanov noted that in the city and its surroundings, air pollution levels are the highest around the main motorway, whereas in the vicinity of the production facilities the measurements are dozens of times lower than the maximum permissible concentration.

Following his tour of SIBUR’s plants, he commented: “ZapSibNeftekhim received considerable financial support from the government through the Russian Direct Investment Fund with input from the Russian National Welfare Fund and coinvestors. This is a good example of leveraging the best available technologies. I was also very eager to see how SIBUR’s facilities are tackling the environmental challenge, and I can say that their environmental impact is reduced to a minimum, in particular through the use of a closed-loop water system.”

Working visit of Sergei Ivanov to SIBUR's Tobolsk site.

During the tour, the guests also inspected the basketball court in the Tobolsk branch of the Tyumen State Oil and Gas University refurbished in partnership with the NBA. The university, along with Tobolsk schools, has containers for separate waste collection installed on its territory as part of the Plastic Recycling initiative. The collected waste is sent for processing to the Tyumen Plant of Polymer Products. Dmitry Konov emphasised that polymers produced from oil and gas extraction by-products are energy efficient and durable, 100% recyclable and fully compliant with the circular economy principles.

“We must support volunteers and the Plastic Recycling initiative implemented by SIBUR in collaboration with the Tobolsk City Administration, and we will. It is vital to communicate the importance of separate waste collection as it will be becoming an integral part of our lives. In many countries, this is already a normal practice, and we need to follow suit, the sooner, the better for the environment and economy,” said Vladimir Yakushev, Governor of the Tyumen Region.

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