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Environmental Responsibility
One of the most important components of the company’s sustainable development strategy is environmental responsibility. The Environmental Policy, which embodies the Company’s dedication to the concepts of sustainable development, governs environmental protection (EP). The main responsibilities of the company are outlined in the document: reducing negative environmental impact (NEI); pursuing resource conservation policies; taking all reasonable steps to preserve biodiversity and the climate; compensating for potential environmental damage; and guaranteeing compliance with environmental standards and requirements established by international legal acts in the field of environmental protection and Republic of Kazakhstan legislation.
Natural gas contributes to the low-carbon development of the Kazakhstani economy and is crucial for accomplishing the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement because of its favorable environmental effects. Reducing air pollution, producing and disposing of less waste from production and consumption, increasing energy efficiency, and protecting biodiversity and land are all priorities for the corporation. The Company understands how much of an obligation it has to preserve environmental balance when putting investment ideas into action.
Eco-friendly products
The National Gas Company believes that the development of infrastructure for the sale of gas motor fuel (compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) will help reduce the shortage of diesel fuel in Kazakhstan. For comparison: diesel fuel consumption in Kazakhstan, according to the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, is about 5.5 million tons per year. While in neighboring Uzbekistan, with a population twice the population of Kazakhstan, diesel fuel consumption is three times less. This difference is due to the active development of the gas motor fuel market in Uzbekistan. The number of automobile gas filling compressor stations (CNG filling stations) in Uzbekistan is 80 times greater than in Kazakhstan, and amounts to 1,440 units versus 18 units in Kazakhstan. At the same time, the cost of gas motor fuel in comparison with diesel fuel is 119 tenge/m3, versus 295 tenge/l (1 liter of diesel fuel corresponds to 1 m3 of natural gas).
Enerplus, LLP plans to increase the number of CNG filling stations in Kazakhstan to 32 units, build two new plants for the production of liquefied natural gas and conduct negotiations on expanding the bus fleet using natural gas engine fuel. In turn, achieving the target indicators will increase the number of jobs in the industry to 245, and in related areas to 1000. To further stimulate the gas motor fuel market, Enerplus, LLP plans to unite cities where there are already CNG filling stations by constructing stationary and mobile CNG filling stations on the main international and national routes. These include the Western Europe – Western China route, the Beineu-Uralsk route and the Astana-Almaty route. Even in the case of an optimistic scenario, if 50% of diesel fuel demand is replaced with methane, 3.3 billion m3 will be required, which will be only 15% of the total gas consumption in Kazakhstan.
Currently, Enerplus, LLP is setting the trend for the further development of the CNG filling station network and attracting international transit using gas motor fuel. Thus, the transition of international and intercity transportation to gas engine fuel will significantly reduce transportation costs due to the low cost of fuel compared to diesel. In turn, this will affect the final price of transported goods. In the future, the construction of a network of CNG filling stations on the highways of Kazakhstan will make it possible to transfer agricultural machinery, large quarry equipment, railway, river and sea transport to gas motor fuel.