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MEMBER MOMENT: CONOCOPHILLIPS' NORTH SLOPE "GREEN" EFFORTS

Green Star was one of dozens of vendors participating in ConocoPhillips' Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Fair on the North Slope. The event, held October 22-24, 2010, was designed to provide information to to all slope workers and contractor employees.

Vendors included health professionals, vendors with safety gear for those working in conditions like the Slope, and environmental groups focusing on climate conditions on the North Slope, as well as tables about what oilfields like Kuparuk and Alpine are doing to promote recycling.

ConocoPhillips staff place little gnomes around the
facility to remind people to recycle by recording messages on them.

While on the Slope, Green Star staff took the opportunity to visit with ConocoPhillips' staff and learn more about the green initiatives are underway. Kuparuk oilfield facilities, operated by ConocoPhillips Alaska, Inc., received its Green Star Award certification in October 1993. ConocoPhillips Alpine received its certification in December 2002.

Jodi Smith, Alpine's Environmental Coordinator, says ConocoPhillips continutes to maintain a small footprint on the North Slope. A lot of equipment and activities are packed into a small space; the idea is to protect the tundra.

ConocoPhillips incorporates waste reduction, energy conservation and pollution prevention into its daily operations. The company recycles everything from cardboard, paper and ink cartridges, to metals, oil and electronics.

ConocoPhillips recycles pallets of electronics through Total Reclaim in Anchorage, and sends its cardboard to Smurfit-Stone Recycling, also in Anchorage. The company has a designated G.E.E.K. (Growth for the Environmental Enhancement at Kupuark) area to recycle printer cartridges, copy paper boxes and mixed paper.

ConocoPhillips fills a Conex with wood scraps (about 8,000-10,000 lbs) and ships it to the Point MacKenzie Rehabilitation Center for use in its furnace for heat and power. Not only does this reduce waste in the landfill, but it also off-sets the state's costs at the rehabilitation center. ConocoPhillips has been doing this for almost ten years.

Scrap wood recycling container

Almost everything that goes to the North Slope is packaged with metal strapping or bands. All the strapping is recycled using a machine called the "Band-Ade." The metal strap is run through the "Band-Ade," which cuts it into smaller pieces and sends it to a drum, which could weigh up 1,200 pounds when full. The drum is sealed and shipped for recycling.

A scrap metal site sits just outside the Kuparuk facility. Each scrap metal dumpster holds about 18,000 pounds of scrap metal. ConocoPhillips says it salvages some metal and some is sent to auction as surplus. The remaining metal is recycled.

ConocoPhillips also recycles used oil from shops and equipment, as well as camp wastewater. Both are recycled through internal processes on the Slope.

For the remaining camp waste, ConocoPhillips uses an incinerator. Officials say they do not want to put camp food waste in the landfill to avoid attracting animals like bears, fox, and ravens, so they collect everything in covered "burnable only" dumpsters.

Green Star would like to thank Jodi Smith, Alpine's Environmental Coordinator, and Kristy McCullough, Kuparuk's Environmental Coordinator, for showing us ConocoPhillips' pollution prevention initiatives at Alpine and Kuparuk.

Good job, Kuparuk and Alpine!