JPRC environmental Policy Statement expresses the company s commitment to be environmentally responsible and construes the degree of commitment by the company s management and serves as a guide to our employees in their behaviors and activities to protect the environment.
The policy also serves as the foundation for an Environmental Management System (EMS) which is being developed to serve as a means to materialize the commitments in the policy.
Reflecting the top management acceptance of its contents and aims, the policy is known to all employees who are expected to understand it and be familiar with.
Initiatives
Environmental initiatives blend recourse conservation, waste minimization and energy management with business growth. The company initiated programs and plans to implement further initiatives to reduce the impact of its activities on the environment.
Water
The Refinery depends on its ground wells to meet its requirement of 250 cubic meters per hour which are used as make up to the cooling towers, for production of steam, for domestic purposes and as source for the fire fighting system. Water utilization in the Refinery generates industrial and domestic waste water. Both waste water streams are treated and controlled to meet prevailing Jordanian standards. Part of the domestic sewage is diverted to the municipal sewage system and 25 cubic meter per hour are treated in the Refinery DWWTP plant. The industrial waste water is treated in a special plant of 135 cubic meter per hour capacity. About 100 cubic meter per hour of the treated waste water is used for irrigating about half a million trees and no waste water is discharged outside the Refinery perimeter in normal operating conditions.
Reduction in water consumption and utilization of chemicals serve the goal of protecting the environment. In this respect the company has resorted to recycling and air cooling wherever possible, treatment by reverse osmosis was introduced which led to 80% reduction in the chemicals consumption, moreover biodegradable chemicals free from heavy metals are currently used. With respect to future projects the policy is directed towards improving the waste water treatment process, and reduce the ammonia concentration in one of its streams; also increasing the capacity of the reverse osmosis facility is being implemented. Opportunities to minimize water usage, recycling and reuse will be sought in addition to other water conservation measures to safeguard ground water resources.
Air
Emissions
Burning of fuels in furnaces and some operations produce emissions of mainly carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide. To reduce the impact of such emissions on the environment, the Refinery monitors the firing process to ensure complete combustion, it also finances and undertakes studies aimed at monitoring the quality of ambient air in the affected areas. The company has also completed many energy conservation projects including heat recovery from the flue gases of the Platformer heater and Co-Generation project. It also regularly pursues energy conservation programs including preventive maintenance and good house keeping. Moreover the company intends to install sulfur recovery plant from the hydrogen sulfide gas which is being currently incinerated.
Products
Although not mandated by environmental considerations, the company has started in 1995 to produce and market unleaded gasoline in addition to the leaded brands with lead concentration of around 0.1 gram per liter which is well below the internationally accepted limits of 0.15 grams per liter. Moreover the future plans of the company aim at expanding the unleaded gasoline production to phase out the leaded ones and reduce the sulfur content in light gas oil from around 1.2% to 0.05%, bearing in mind that the current sulfur contents in the gasoline and kerosene are 0.02% and 0.1% respectively.
Ozone Layer
In line with the guidelines of the International agreements directed towards protection of the ozone layer, the company has installed a plant to produce special liquefied petroleum gas to be used as replacement for the ozone depleting propellants in the aerosol industries. The company is also committed to stop using all ozone depleting materials in its activities.
Industrial Wastes
The various activities of the Refinery generate solid and liquid wastes such as the spent soda of which the odorous amounts are recycled in the process and the rest are diverted to a concrete and lined drying pond. The tetraethyl is dealt with in accordance with the international guidelines, to secure safe disposal environmentally and health wise. The solid wastes such as metals and rubber are sold as scrap. The chemicals, sludge and wastes generated from turnarounds and maintenance work are kept in safe locations until the Kingdom solid waste disposal site becomes available for receiving such materials.
Environmental Activities
The company plays an active role in the local environment protection activities which include effective participation in seminars and extending materialistic and financial support to activities directed towards protecting the environment. At the international level the company participated in the Mediterranean Environment Technical Assistance Program (METAP) and played an active role in preparing studies related to the water pollution problem in the Amman-Zarqa basin including capacity building, economical impact, and environmental impact reports. Also studies relating to energy conservation and environmental protection are prepared and submitted to international bodies seeking their support.
Monitoring
An Environment Department was set up with the responsibility of environmental protection for ensuring that the company activities are in Compliance with National environmental regulatory requirements.