In our company, we continually improve ecological performances of our business processes, develop ecological awareness of our employees, and promote the application of best available methods and technologies through investment projects. Following our “Green Agenda”, we have been contributing to environmental conservation and reduction of pollutant emissions over years.
In an effort to meet our “green” objectives, we focus on three major directions – implementation of environmental projects, launching business initiatives with significant environmental benefits, and participation in environmental protection campaigns. Since 2009, we have invested over 900 million euro in environmental projects and business initiatives that have significantly contributed to improving the ecological image of our country, with over 130 million euro invested in “purely” environmental initiatives. In 2023 only, 801.8 million dinar was invested in environmental projects.
Our principal objectives relating to environmental protection focus on compliance with all regulations in the field of air, water and soil, in particular, the lowest possible waste generation and higher level or recycling and disposal of generated waste, as well as preserving biodiversity in operational sites. Additionally, we are committed to reducing the climate change effects. In 2021, we developed the Environmental Protection Strategy until 2030. We have conducted the analysis of regulations of the Republic of Serbia and European Union, defined long-term objectives to reduce negative environmental effects, selected the projects, and estimated the investment required.
A significant part of our environmental Protection Strategy is dedicated to managing the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The practice of GHG emissions monitoring and quarterly reporting was introduced in 2022. Our company practices monitoring and reporting on Scope 1 (direct GHG emissions), Scope 2 (energy indirect GHG emissions), while, in 2023, the scope of reporting was extended to cover, for the first time, the complex Scope 3 calculations (other indirect GHG emissions that occur upstream and downstream of the organisation’s activities – from product purchasing, resource procurement, sale of products (petroleum products), investments, etc.).
At the end of 2023, a by-law stemming from Law on Climate Change, Regulation on Greenhouse Gas Monitoring and Reporting (Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 118/2023), was enacted, imposing new obligations related to GHG emissions on our company. The preparation activities for meeting the obligation are in progress, in particular, filing for the GHG licence, development of GHG emission monitoring plans and supporting documentation for NIS’ units.
In addition, as a means to prepare for the emerging obligations and with the object of establishing the GHG emissions management process, in 2023, we developed and adopted the instruction “Greenhouse Gas Emissions Monitoring”.
In the field of waste management, we signed frame agreements with authorised waste disposal operators for the period 2024-2026, covering the services of collection, transport and treatment of waste generated by NIS.
The major share of environmental investments has been made in Pančevo Oil Refinery, one of the leading contemporary refineries in this part of Europe. The refinery modernisation, which started in 2009, was wrapped up with the construction of two state-of-the-art units, the operation of which, brought about both financial and ecological benefits. Commissioning of the MHC/DHT complex in November 2012 facilitated fuel production to highest international standards, in particular fuel with sulphur content under 10 ppm. The procedure of the IPPC licence issuance for our refinery was completed, as the first energy generation unit in Serbia to be granted the integrated IPPC licence from the competent state authorities, confirming compliance of its production processes with the highest local and European environmental standards.
The second stage of refinery modernisation was concluded with start-up of the Delayed Coking Unit in November 2020, enabling production of larger amounts of high-quality fuels and expanding the product portfolio to include petroleum coke. The environmental effects of this contemporary unit are no less significant, given that it helped reduce the Refinery’s SO2 emissions by 98.8 per cent, dust by over 50 per cent, and nitrogen oxide by nearly 10 per cent. We also completed reconstruction and modernisation of the FCC complex, leading to a reduction of dust emissions, modernisation of tank truck and tank car loading terminals, when the environmentally-friendly system of tank loading was introduced in the Refinery, and lower demand for water withdrawal from the Danube.
The third stage of Refinery upgrade envisages the implementation of a new project – fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit reconstruction and construction of the ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE) unit for production of higher-octane gasoline. This project will significantly improve environmental protection, as a result of additional reduction of dust emissions.
We implement significant environmental projects in other business areas as well. In the Exploration and Production Block, in 2010, we put Novo Miloševo waste mud landfill into operation, intended for permanent and safe disposal of mud material (non-hazardous waste). Moreover, the “Dry Locations” project allowed mud recirculation, i.e. the amount of mud fluid was reduced, and thereby the amount of waste mud by 10-15 per cent. The waste well cuttings are disposed in metal containers, thus preventing soil and groundwater pollution. Additionally, the total area of over 16 ha has been restored to agricultural land.
The Exploration and Production Block also includes the Amine Unit at Elemir, in which we invested around 30 million Euro. The key effects of this project include improving the quality and produced amounts of the domestic natural gas. It also encompasses an environmental component, given that its method of refining completely prevents air emissions of carbon-dioxide, and consequently helps reduce the “greenhouse” effect. This is possible due to the HIPACT (High Pressure Acid Gas Capture Technology), which is among the most efficient gas treatment methods. Furthermore, on Ostrovo gas field, we produce compressed natural gas that has industry application and replaces liquid fuels, thus reducing pollutant emissions from industrial boilers, combustion chambers and furnaces.
In addition, a number of water, soil and air protection projects have been implemented in the Sales and Distribution Block. 387 separators, 10 biological devices, and 629 piezometers have been installed to ensure underground water quality control. All petrol stations constructed or fully reconstructed after 2006 are equipped with subsurface double-shell tanks, and all petrol stations have a condensate return system used during tank truck unloading into petrol stations’ subsurface tanks. Retail sale of compressed natural gas, often called the fuel of the future due to its characteristics, is in the development stage at our petrol station. In addition, eight company’s motorway retail facilities in Serbia are equipped with electric vehicle charging stations. The Sales and Distribution Block has disposed of 21.494.28 t of historical waste to date. All petrol stations are furnished with packaging waste sorting equipment.
Having diversified our activities, as of 2013, we have excelled in the field of energy, specifically electricity generation and trading. As part of non-commercial gas monetization programme, we have constructed mini power plants on eight oil and gas fields in Serbia, with a total maximum power 14 MW. These power plants, in which we invested around 20 million euro, generate heat and electricity from gas, which previously used to be flared due to its poor quality (high content of carbon dioxide and nitrogen). This prevents uncontrolled pollutant air emissions and brings significant financial benefits to our company. We have started electricity generation from gas at Jimbolia well in Romania, and the kilowatt-hours produced by this unit are traded on the Romanian market.
In 2022, we started generating electricity at TE-TO Pančevo (CCPP), as a joint venture. The project is worth 196 million Euro, and the installed electric power of the unit is 189 MW. The envisaged electricity generated on an annual basis amounts to around 1,400 GWh. TE-TO Pančevo is the first gas and steam turbine power plant in Serbia designed for combined electricity and heat generation, fired by natural gas that is more environmentally-friendly than other fossil fuels. This power plant, whose technology is currently the best in terms of energy efficiency and environment, generates heat for the purposes of Pančevo Oil Refinery, while generated electricity is delivered into the power electric system of Serbia.
In 2022, we launched the project of photovoltaic power station construction at our petrol stations in Serbia, leading to both financial and positive environmental effects. The major share of generated electricity, along with the power distribution network, will be used for the purposes of petrol stations themselves. Up to the present, we have commissioned 27 and we are constructing additional 18 solar power plants at our petrol stations. The total expected electricity generation using these 45 solar power plants is 1600 MWh annually, out of which 1500 MWh will be consumed by petrol stations and around 100 MWh will be delivered to the distribution network, including that the reduction of carbon-dioxide emissions is estimated to over 1700 tons annually. This project is envisaged to be further developed on our retail facilities, as well as on other company sites.
In addition, we are developing electricity trading. We currently hold the licence for electricity trading in Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Hungary and Bulgaria. We trade on the power exchange in Serbia and Romania.
Moreover, our company is primarily focused on energy efficiency. The 2023 programme of measures to reduce energy consumption and improve energy efficiency produced the effect of energy savings of 7,936 tons of oil equivalent. The financial value of the savings is 734.8 million dinar. From 2012 to 2023, NIS achieved the total increase of energy efficiency by 33 per cent, also contributing to a more cost-effective use of resources and environmental protection.
In the third quarter of 2022, the Energy Block was set up in the company, with a task, among others, to accelerate energy transition of NIS.
Some significant initiatives related to environment and energy efficiency have been implemented with community engagement. In 2021, as part of “Common Cause Community” Programme, we implemented 29 projects worth 107.5 million dinar in 12 partner cities/towns and municipalities in Serbia. They included introduction of the solar power supply and lighting systems, replacement of boilers, park landscaping, planting indigenous plants, installation of innovative ecological elements, solar lightning of parks, installation of recycling bins and containers.
Our employees also partake in environmental campaigns. NIS Volunteer Club runs campaigns of cleaning and landscaping the river banks and lake shores, outing spots and public spaces, tree planting, and educating youngest society members on the importance of environmental protection. In 2023, for the World Environment Day, NIS volunteers participated in Fruška Gora cleaning campaign, titled “One Working Day for Nature”. The campaign was organised in cooperation with the Provincial Institute for Nature Conservation, Provincial Secretariat for Urban Planning and Environment Protection, and “Fruška Gora” National Park. Last year, our colleagues took part in tree planting in Limanski Park, giving their contribution together with the company to remedying the consequences of storms on the territory of the City of Novi Sad.
The Club’s volunteer activities are centred on the needs of society, especially citizens in the local communities in which the company operates the most
See moreIt should be noted that new projects to further improve the ecological image of Serbia are underway. In the upcoming period, the projects related to energy efficiency improvement, renewable energy sources, utilization of higher-quality and environmentally cleaner fuels (natural gas), and researching the possibilities for CO2 separation and storage will be intensified. It has been forecast that, by 2030, one half of our company’s electricity consumption will originate from renewable energy sources. The implementation of the “Green Agenda” will remain one of the priorities in our company in the forthcoming period.
