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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BAKU 001174 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR EUR/CARC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV ECON EINV EAGR AJ
SUBJECT: SOCAR HOSTS CONFERENCE ON ENVIRONMENTAL 
REHABILITATION 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan 
(SOCAR) hosted a conference entitled "Rehabilitation of 
Contaminated Soils-Suggested Methods" in Baku on November 
3-4.  SOCAR's Vice President of Ecological Affairs, Mukhtar 
Babayev, moderated the event and acknowledged the many 
challenges facing the Ecological Department.  He repeatedly 
sought the support and cooperation of a host of domestic and 
international experts to develop holistic solutions to these 
problems.  Many attendees noted that the conference was the 
first of its kind in Azerbaijan, as it brought a range of 
relevant domestic and international experts to glean input 
for SOCAR's nascent ecological program and set the tone for 
future conferences.  Presentations on monitoring, filtration, 
rehabilitation and prevention of contamination were given 
throughout the event, with an open forum at the end of each 
day for the audience to offer new ideas, ask questions and 
challenge their colleagues' proposals.  At the conclusion of 
the conference, a final eight-point resolution was drafted to 
encompass the key findings of the conference.  End Summary. 
 
Background 
---------- 
 
¶2.  (U) The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) hosted a 
conference entitled "Rehabilitation of Contaminated 
Soils-Suggested Methods" in Baku on November 3-4. Over 100 
guests and presenters from the public and private sectors, 
NGOs, international organizations and academia were in 
attendance. 
 
¶3.  (U) The Ecological Department of SOCAR was created in 
2007 by a presidential decree which mandated that SOCAR 
address previous environmental damage caused by the oil 
industry and update its equipment and practices to prevent 
future ecological damage.  Azerbaijan's 160 year history of 
oil development has left the country with vast quantities of 
hazardous materials related to the industry, and over 30,000 
hectares of contaminated soil.  Its current environmental 
policy was developed in coordination with the World Bank and 
approved in May 2008.  The Department's 184 million USD soil 
monitoring and rehabilitation program was supported with 
technical expertise and 64 million USD in grants from the 
World Bank.  These initiatives are ongoing and subject to the 
availability of funding. 
 
Opening Address 
--------------- 
 
¶4.  (U) Mukhtar Babayev, Vice President and Head of the 
Ecological Department at SOCAR, delivered the opening 
address.  Babayev said that 160 years of oil development in 
Azerbaijan coincided with a complete lack of environmental 
awareness or regulation, resulting in the country's vast 
ecological problems.  While acknowledging SOCAR's key role in 
remedying this situation, he called upon other business 
leaders, government ministers, and Azerbaijani citizens to 
contribute their expertise and resources to alleviating these 
problems.  He identified environmental remediation as a 
"shared mission and moral imperative" for all Azerbaijanis, 
as opposed to a mere legal obligation for the energy sector. 
Babayev explained that given the nascent state of SOCAR's 
ecological initiatives and the unceasing importance of this 
mission, future conferences would be necessary so that 
dialogue amongst experts could continue and the lessons 
learned from current endeavors could be shared with 
interested parties.  While expressing pride in SOCAR's 
accomplishments and optimism for its plans for future 
endeavors, Babayev cautioned that the steep drop in oil 
prices could have a negative impact on future actions. 
 
Ecological Department Initiatives and Input from Other Experts 
------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (U) Azer Aliyev, Chief of the Ecological Department, 
provided an overview of the unit's key initiatives, which 
were expanded on during subsequent presentations.  Over the 
past year, Ecological Department staff were trained on 
environmental remediation techniques in the United States and 
UK.  During this period, they implemented a large-scale 
monitoring and analysis program to gather data and produce a 
map of the contamination in the Absheron Peninsula, which 
 
BAKU 00001174  002 OF 003 
 
 
encompasses 30,000 hectares and the bulk of on-shore oil 
contamination in Azerbaijan.  The map is constantly being 
updated with new information and is the basis for targeting 
rehabilitation efforts.  Aliyev stated that residential areas 
are given the highest priority when evaluating sites for 
remediation.  Once an area is selected, various cleaning 
methods are applied to filter out contaminants and restore 
the landscape to a state that is sufficient for its intended 
use.  SOCAR has developed a time table that sets yearly 
rehabilitation targets through 2010.  It's Ecological 
Department is also doing "eco enlightenment" projects, which 
teach children about the dangers of contamination and the 
importance of environmental stewardship. 
 
¶6.  (U) Mammad Nasibov, head of the monitoring section of the 
Ecological Department, explained that monitoring is conducted 
before, during, and after rehabilitation.  The results are 
used to make informed decisions on the cleaning methods to be 
used and to gauge the effectiveness of the project. 
Monitoring results are provided in reports that are available 
to the public.  Nasibov stressed that SOCAR's intent is to be 
completely transparent so that everyone is aware of the 
potential dangers in contaminated zones.  He also noted that 
this information can be used by other organizations that wish 
to assist with rehabilitation efforts, underscoring Mukhtar 
Babayev's theme of collaborating to address contamination 
issues.  Shirvan Yusifov, head of the soil and landscape 
rehabilitation section of the Ecological Department, 
described a four-step process for cleaning contaminated soil 
once an area has been selected.  First, all discarded and 
broken oil equipment is removed from the site.  Contaminated 
soil is then excavated (if necessary), cleaned and returned 
to its original location.  Finally, trees are planted to 
filter residual pollutants and the area is again monitored to 
check contamination levels. 
 
¶7.  (U) Subsequent speakers identified SOCAR's options for 
cleaning the soil, environmentally responsible techniques of 
oil extraction, and the mistakes that the company has made 
during its initial remediation efforts.  SOCAR is currently 
evaluating five bids by international companies to provide 
equipment that mechanically cleans the soil; one of which 
will be chosen within the next year.  Other options include 
biological cleaning methods, which use plants to absorb and 
filter contaminants.  Representatives from BP, BT TexnoServis 
and the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences suggested new 
drilling methods and opportunities for further collaboration. 
 Several Azerbaijani scientists highlighted the need for 
further study before progressing with biological remediation 
techniques, as one third of the 30,000 trees SOCAR had 
planted in rehabilitated sites have already died.  Babayev 
admitted that his department has much to learn from 
international companies and needs to invest in 
state-of-the-art equipment, but that the 90 other 
organizations that SOCAR invited to the event also need to 
increase their involvement in these environmental endeavors. 
 
¶8.  (U) Wolfhart Pohl, Senior Environment and Geosciences 
Specialist at the World Bank, expanded the discussion to 
include the economic benefits of ecological rehabilitation, 
as well as the compounding effects of non-oil generated 
contamination, such as sewage, vehicle emissions and 
municipal waste.  Pohl called for a comprehensive approach to 
address these issues, as non-oil contaminants are not SOCAR's 
responsibility but are of critical importance to 
rehabilitating Azerbaijan,s contaminated soil.  His calls 
for definitive standards and normative regulations were 
echoed during a number of other presentations.  Fegan Aliyev, 
President of the International Ecoenergy Academy, an 
Azerbaijan-based NGO, highlighted his organization's 
assistance with the contamination mapping project, its 
Caspian Sea rehabilitation projects, and suggested that this 
conference be held on a yearly basis.  Aliyev emphasized the 
need for greater collaboration with international partners 
and the use of international standards, which are already 
well established and can bring a wealth of experience to 
Azerbaijan. 
 
Open Forum Commentary 
--------------------- 
 
 
BAKU 00001174  003 OF 003 
 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Many participants used the open forum to offer 
their support for the various proposals offered, while 
several questioned the cleaning techniques that were 
recommended by SOCAR and the Nopal Group, a U.S.-based 
bio-remediation company.  Todd Sutherland, Manager of the 
Baku branch of Nopal, clarified the costs and potential of 
the company's product, and SOCAR Vice-President Mukhtar 
Babayev called for patience as this and other proposals still 
needed to be evaluated under local conditions.  Babayev 
attempted to assuage concerns that foreign companies were 
offering solutions without clear estimates of the costs and 
effectiveness of the respective cleaning technologies. 
 
Conference Resolutions 
---------------------- 
 
¶10.   (U) The following eight points were adopted as final 
resolutions of the Conference: 
 
-- Appropriate government agencies should be consulted on the 
future use of oil contaminated lands so that the appropriate 
rehabilitation strategy could be decided upon. 
 
-- Scientific research and practical work should assess 
alternative technologies for rehabilitating oil contaminated 
soils. 
 
-- Research on multi-stage restorations and economically 
efficient methods of soil rehabilitation needs to be 
accomplished.  These efforts should take into account local 
environmental and labor considerations. 
 
-- All areas contaminated with radioactive material from 
hydrocarbon extraction and production should be determined, 
and a surveillance system should be created for the 
management of radioactive zones. 
 
-- Local and foreign companies that have experience with 
biological and mechanical decontamination should be consulted 
to determine which methods and state-of-the-art technologies 
are most appropriate for Azerbaijan's rehabilitation efforts. 
 
-- Additional efforts to attract funding from international 
organizations need to be made to assuage the costs of 
environmental preservation and rehabilitation projects. 
 
-- Domestic criteria for evaluating soil contamination need 
to be established in accordance with international standards. 
 
-- All conference presentations are to be printed and 
distributed to the participants. 
 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Babayev expressed his personal desire to work with 
U.S. Embassy Baku on ecological remediation efforts.  He 
believes that Ambassador Derse, specifically, and USG in 
general, share in his desire to make Azerbaijan's ecological 
initiatives a success.  The often passionate exchanges 
amongst participants and the repeated calls for future 
engagement and collaboration are indicative of the strong 
interest in this conference and genuine desire to alleviate 
the country's contamination problems. 
LU