Reclamation

In Italy Eni operates in 17 Sites of National Interest where a reclamation process is in progress and the number of procedures opened in the Country as a whole exceeds 900; clearly there is extreme variability in the scale of the issues related to the reclamation activities, which involve the refineries, petrochemicals and well areas as well as fuel retailers.

Reclamation activities have mainly been carried out through Syndial, a company dedicated to the reclamation and remediation of contaminated sites following decommissioning (63% of total expenditure in 2013) followed by R&M (22%) and the Chemicals sector (12%).

Total spending on reclamation in 2013 is broadly in line with that for the previous year, which was significantly lower than 2011 due to delays in granting some preliminary authorizations by the Public Administration, which had an impact on Syndial’s activities.

In 2013, activities focused on the ongoing restoration of major sites (Gela, Priolo, Assemini and Porto Marghera). Syndial started to apply sustainable remediation principles (using the in-house application “Sustainable Assessment Framework”) for the appraisal of the projects in Ravenna, Brindisi and Porto Torres. An example of application of the sustainability principles that all business units are moving towards is the start of solar electricity production from the EniPower plant built on the former phosphogypsum landfill at Gela, allowing considerable savings of resources and a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of approximately 4,500 tonnes /year.

The commitment of R&M continued concearning the management of safety measures and reclamation in the marketing sector (fuel sales outlets) as well as in the industrial sector. The most significant activities included the completion of the installation of drainage systems in Taranto as well as the reclamation works in the area of the refinery tank park.

In the chemicals sector, reclamation activities continued on sites with approved projects; in particular, Sarroch tested the IWS (In Well Stripping) technology as the first stage of the aquifer reclamation project, which will involve the reduction of discharges into the surface water. At the Ferrara plant, the process of reclamation of the surface soil matrix and the wetting water ended positively: this is one of the most important projects and is unique in Italy in terms of the extension of the reclamation area inside a petrochemical plant.

E&P is committed to reclamation both in Italy and abroad where, in addition to the conclusion of activities at the site of Abu-Rudeis/Belayim (Egypt) and follow-up remediation of two “burning pits” in Congo, a project to run pilot trials with “Thermal Desorption technology and Three Phase Recovery” is underway in Nigeria to provide a more sustainable alternative, with the widespread adoption of “enhanced natural attenuation” in the Region.

Regarding the production of waste from reclamation, 95% of the volume produced refers to polluted groundwater, a slight increase compared to the previous year due to the peak flow from TAF (groundwater treatment) plants managed primarily by Syndial which undertook recovery initiatives like the production of demi water downstream of the TAF facility in Assemini for reuse within the production cycle or the passage of treated water from the TAF in Brindisi to EniPower for industrial use.

The project in Priolo is also expected to be completed; this involves placing a portion of the treated water from the TAF in the industrial water network used for production activities on the multi-company site (the remainder will be used in the groundwater barrier below the ERG/MED area) as well as energy optimization of TAF facilities, in order to improve the processes and reduce the consumption of raw materials and energy. The operative TAF in Sicily can handle highly contaminated groundwater with an efficiency level in terms of reclamation higher than anywhere else in the world, based on the quality of the water resulting from the reclamation.