The impact of oil and gas facilities on land pollution in the Saratov Zavolzhye region

Abstract

The paper presents the data on the situation of the oil and gas complex of the Saratov region. It is shown that the Saratov region is a promising region for hydrocarbon production and one of the leaders in the Volga Federal district, since 85 % of the territory is occupied by oil and gas-promising lands. The structure of the oil and gas complex and the dynamics of production of hydrocarbons in the region are presented in the article. The paper describes the indicators of the oil and gas complex, background accident risks that determine environmental pollution. The results of monitoring the pollution of the territory of the largest in Europe Stepnovsky gas storage facility, created on the basis of the Stepnovsky oil and gas processing enterprise, which operated from 1953 to 1973, are given. It is proved that during the production and storage of hydrocarbons at this enterprise, there was a strong pollution of the soil with oil and petroleum products, so their content reaches 1527 mg/kg of soil in the upper half-meter layer, and 2060 mg/kg of soil in the second half-meter. The content of plumbum and copper in the soil is 3.3 and 2.3 times higher above the background values for dark chestnut soils. The accumulation of a significant amount of unsaturated hydrocarbons (C1-C10) in the subsurface air from 25.97 mg/m3 to 38.17 mg/m3 is proved. It is shown that the extraction and storage of hydrocarbons at the Stepnovsky enterprise did not lead to a deterioration of the sanitary and microbiological condition of the studied soil.