In order to strengthen the functional and operational integration of environmental management in Petróleos de Venezuela SA, coordination mechanisms have been developed and put in place for training and the exchange of knowledge and experiences, as well as the monitoring and control of plans and policies in PDVSA.
In 2015, the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, through the Office of Corporate Environmental Management, engaged in:
• Testing phase of design and implementation of environmental performance indicators of operations for Exploration and Production.
• With the support of PDVSA's environmental organizations, executed the process of improving and updating the tools for recording and consolidating information on industrial effluents, waste management, atmospheric emissions, socio-environmental training and follow up and control of the Social and Environmental Management Results.
• Preparation of the manual and the form to approve the estimation of Sulfur Dioxide Emissions in the Upgrading Division.
• Preparation of a proposal with the Manual of Methods and Procedures for the Collection of Operational Data of the Atmospheric Emissions Indicator in the areas of Refineries and Upgraders.
• Execution of four training actions on vegetative recovery and degraded areas, meteorology, integrated management of hazardous wastes and preparation of inventory of greenhouse gases, aimed at 130 workers of PDVSA and other governmental institutions.
• The rational use of natural resources was promoted through the implementation of recycling programs of paper and spent ink cartridges that allowed to recover 380 kg of paper and 54 spent ink cartridges.
• Internal pre-audit reviews of organizations selected by KPMG in order to identify findings and recommendations as part of the continuous improvement of the Social and Environmental Management Results of PDVSA, Subsidiaries and Joint Ventures.
• During 2015, PDVSA, through its subsidiaries PDVSA Intevep and PDVSA IyC, provided technical assistance to five projects of National Interest: Nigale Bridge (PDVSA IyC), Boyacá Avenue Extension, Macayapa Distributor and Tacagua Viaduct (PDVSA IyC ), Mérida Cable Car (PDVSA IyC), Waraira-Macuto Litoral Cable Car System (PDVSA IyC) and Environmental Studies in Aves Island (Intevep).
PDVSA, through its Businesses, Subsidiaries and Joint Ventures conducts monitoring programs of the natural resources that make up the ecosystems where oil facilities are located. They are grouped as: Waters (Underground and Surface) ; Air; Soil; Noise; Marine-Coastal Ecosystems and Biodiversity.
These programs prevent any damage that may occur to the environment, related to the location of oil projects, and conduct environmental measures that correct or minimize such impact
In 2015, PDVSA increased by 2.45% -compared with 2014- the number of natural resource monitoring programs carried out by its Businesses, Subsidiaries and Joint Ventures. In 2015, the approved budget for the development of these programs reached 69.90 million bolivars (MMBs) and its execution at the close of the current reporting period is 41.79 MMBs. For this evaluation period, execution was increased by 29.21 MMBs , or 232% of the amount executed in 2014.
(Industrial and Domestic)
In order to control the quality of the discharges to natural water bodies, the regulations require physicochemical and biological characterization with a quarterly frequency at the points of discharge. During the year 2015, PDVSA reported 179 fixed effluent discharge points subject to this regulation, of which 68% constitute domestic wastewater discharges, 26% are industrial and 6% mixed. In addition, 318 mobile discharge points were registered from portable domestic wastewater treatment plants located temporarily at locations where drilling activities are carried out, the frequency of which depends on the duration of operations
PDVSA registered a generation of 783.36 million barrels (MMB) of production water, which is used in the secondary recovery of hydrocarbons and in non-exploitable oil fields. This amount represents a reduction of 118.47 MMB, or 13% of the volume reported in 2014. In this evaluation period there is a reduction of 66.6 MMB of injected water, or 13% below the amount reported in 2014.
PDVSA achieved 53.04% of overall compliance in the number of fixed points conditioned for the capture and analysis of samples.
Various PDVSA organizations reported a total of 1,051 fixed discharge points of atmospheric emissions; 557 have structural modifications (including sampling points, access ladders, and platforms) to conduct characterizations, either for gases or particulate matter.
Characterization was conducted at 198 emission points. However, at the closing of operational data, the final results report was not available for 9 fixed sources of discharge emissions - in Petro San Felix - from the Hugo Chávez Orinoco Oil Belt.
Also, it is evident that PDVSA has implemented the corresponding actions to characterize its inventories of fixed sources of atmospheric emissions; 82.01% of evaluated points match the requirements of the environmental regulatory framework (Decree No. 638).
Conditioning is part of the adequacy plans and future plant shutdowns at PDVSA facilities. It will be perfomed under the regulations for the fixed atmospheric emissions discharge points; this will increase their evaluation and characterization.
PDVSA continuously evaluates the environmental impact that our facilities have on the quality of the air of neighboring areas. From January to December 2015, a total of 26 semi-automatic and automatic air quality sampling stations were used to evaluate the following parameters: sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), hydrogen sulphide (H2S), total suspended particulates (PTS), ozone (O3), hydrogen fluoride (HF), fluorides (F-), hydrogen chlorides (HCL), chlorides (Cl), and lead (Pb).
In the areas of influence of PDVSA operations, only the parameter "Total Suspended Particles (PTS)" reported concentrations above the maximum limits allowed by Decree No. 638 in the stations used.
The stations that registered values of "Suspended Total Particles (PTS)" above the norm were the Guaraguao Station (Puerto La Cruz Refinery) and 7 stations in PDVSA Gas Processing: El Silencio Ambulatory, Maternity Hospital, INZIT, Los Cilantrillos, Bello Monte, Delicias Viaje and La Gloria.
96.36% of the parameters evaluated in the air quality monitoring stations in PDVSA are in accordance with the limits established on Decree No. 638.
PDVSA continuously evaluates the environmental impact of our facilities on the air quality of neighboring areas. From January to December 2015, 26 semi-automatic and automatic air quality sampling stations were used to evaluate the following parameters: sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), total suspended particles (PTS), ozone (O3), hydrogen fluoride (HF), fluorides (F-), hydrogen chloride (HCL), chlorides ), and lead (Pb).
In the areas of influence of PDVSA operations, only concentrations of "Total Suspended Particles (PTS)" were reported above the maximum allowed by Decree No. 638 at the stations used.
Those stations were: Guaraguao (Puerto La Cruz Refinery) and 7 stations under PDVSA Gas Procesamiento: Ambulatorio El Silencio, Hospital Materno, INZIT, Los Cilantrillos, Bello Monte, Delicias Viaje and La Gloria.
96.36% of the parameters evaluated at PDVSA air quality monitoring stations are within the limits established by Decree No. 638.
PDVSA organizations reported and attended 8,796 spills; 8,603 were hydrocarbons, or 98% of the total, while the remaining 193 events involved other types of pollutants.
Of the total number of oil spills, 7,242 (84%) occurred in bodies of water and the remaining 1,361 occurred in soils.
In relation to the volume of hydrocarbon spilled, there is a total of 123,846 Barrels (BS): 103,199 BS (83%) correspond to spills occurring in soil, while the remaining 20,647 BS (17%) correspond to those occurred in water. As a result of the attention given to these events, 78,651 barrels were collected, or 64% of the total volume spilled.
Social-environmental training, conceived under the perspective of sustainable development, leads to the use of natural resources without endangering the survival of future generations.
A total of 4,546 social-environmental training activities were conducted. There was an increase of 74% in the number of participants compared to the previous year, with the assistance of 93,596 PDVSA workers, government institutions, students and members of the community. We also used resources for dissemination and social-environmental training.
