Petro Matad’s assets are located in remote locations in Mongolia. In this operating environment, it is essential to have a fit for purpose environmental strategy that cultivates and implements an environmental awareness culture not only within the company but with the contractors involved with our projects and activities.
The preservation and protection of the environment where we operate is a top priority for us.
Commitment to Environment
We address environmental protection proactively in all our operations. Within our Environmental Management Plan, we implement site monitoring prior to the commencement of any field programmes and we implement the recommendations of the Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment which must be approved by the Ministry of Environment prior to any operational activity.
Detailed environmental and cultural sensitivity field studies by specialist consultants have been commissioned in our areas of operations to address the concerns of local communities, to ensure legal compliance when working near protected areas and to minimize all adverse environmental impacts.
The results of these studies are used to finalize the operational Environmental Management Plan which includes interactive constraints maps. In areas of potential sensitivity, sites are revisited and surveyed to manage any potential environmental, archaeological or cultural conflicts. These visits involve environmental and cultural specialists, together with local environmental officials and a senior member of our technical team. We strive to remediate all operational areas wherever necessary.
We continue to review new technologies that will reduce our overall operational carbon footprint which will improve both operational performance and reduce potential harmful emissions into land, water and air. We also pay close attention to the training of employees and contractors, to recycling and waste management, spill prevention, water source management and environmental restoration.
Air Quality
The nature of the company’s activities has the potential to pollute the atmosphere, which increases the importance of controlling and reducing emissions to avoid and minimize the potential damaging effects on the environment and human health. Efforts are made on ensuring machinery and equipment are stringently serviced and maintained to reduce pollutants. Transportation and logistical plans are constantly reviewed to reduce carbon emissions.
Environmental Activity
The Board of Petro Matad in 2021 took the decision to expand the company’s activities in Mongolia into sustainable and renewable energy in addition to its ongoing work in the oil and gas sector. Mongolia has a substantial potential for both wind and solar power generation. A joint venture called SunSteppe Renewable Energy was established with an active and successful Mongolian renewable energy project developer.
A number of projects have been identified ranging in size from a few tens of megawatts to hundreds of megawatts and are being developed to construction ready status.
In addition, Petro Matad is looking at renewable energy possibilities to deploy in its Heron oilfield development. The area around Heron is well suited to both wind and solar power generation.
Petro Matad is also studying the potential to use CO2 injection as an enhanced oil recovery mechanism for the Heron development. This technique has been widely used around the world for many years and has proven particularly successful in some of the larger oil field developments onshore in northern China. It has not been deployed in Mongolia where water injection has traditionally been used for reservoir pressure maintenance. Southern Mongolia is effectively covered by desert steppe and water is an increasingly precious resource. As such, an alternative to large scale water usage in oil production operations is considered a goal worth pursuing. Technical studies are now underway to determine the potential effectiveness of CO2 injection into the reservoirs of the Tamsag Basin.
Land and Environment Restoration
Upon the completion of drilling of the Heron-1 and Gazelle-1 wells in northern Block XX in 2019, technical restoration of the drilling leases was delayed due to Covid-19 pandemic that impacted the work and of operators in the petroleum and other industry sectors, in Mongolia. With the easing of restrictions in 2022, technical restoration by a specialist restoration contractor was completed on both Heron-1 and Gazelle-1 drilling leases. Both drilling lease areas were inspected with the province’s Handover Committee signing off on the formal compliance acceptance documentation.
Prior to the drilling of Velociraptor-1 well in Block V in 2023, the HSSE team ensured that the native zag trees growing on the lease area were carefully removed and replanted in adjacent areas. The regional environmental condition is arid and semi desert and flora and fauna are sparse. The zag trees took root well and this effort demonstrated Petro Matad’s commitment to the environment. Subsequent to the completion of drilling operations, Petro Matad is looking to restore the area impacted by the drilling operations to its original state as practicably possible and to obtain formal compliance acceptance documentation.
See our Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance Initiatives page for a full list of social outreach and environmental activities.