EG-Helwan South Power Project Raven Natural Gas Pipeline

EG-Helwan South Power Project
Raven Natural Gas Pipeline

The Egyptian Natural Gas Company
ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT
ASSESSMENT

June 2019

Final Report
Prepared By:

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ESIA study for RAVEN Pipeline

Rev. I

Date

Prepared By

Description

Draft I
Hend Kesseba, Environmental Specialist
9.12.2018

Anan Mohamed, Social Expert

II

27.2.2019

June 2019
Final I

Final

Final II

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ESIA study for Raven Pipeline

Executive Summary

Introduction

The Government of Egypt (GoE) has immediate priorities to increase the use of the natural gas as a clean source of energy and let it the main source of energy through developing natural gas fields and new explorations to meet the national gas demand. The western Mediterranean and the northern Alexandria gas fields are planned to be a part from the national plan and expected to produce 900 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) in 2019.

Raven gas field is one of those fields which GASCO (the Egyptian natural gas company) decided to procure, construct and operate a new gas pipeline to transfer rich gas from Raven gas field in north Alexandria to the western desert gas complex (WDGC) and Amreya Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) plant in Alexandria. The extracted gas will be transported through a new gas pipeline, hereunder named ‘’the project’’, with 70 km length

and 30’’ inch diameter to WDGC and 5 km length 18” inch diameter to Amreya LPG.

The proposed project will be funded from the World Bank(WB) by the excess of fund from the south-helwan project (due to a change in scope of south helwan project, there is loan saving of US$ 74.6 m which GASCO decided to employ it in the proposed project).

As stipulated by Egyptian legislations, namely law 4 year 2004 and amendment law 9 year 2009, an Environment and Social Impacts Assessment (ESIA) should be prepared prior to the execution of gas connection projects and approval from the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) should be obtained prior to project commencement. Additionally, as the project is funded from the WB GASCO must ensure that project implementation will adhere to WB standards. EcoConServ had been retained by GASCO to conduct an ESIA complies with the national and international standards.

The proposed pipeline, implemented by Petrojet, GASCO contractor; aims to achieve the government's plan to expand the delivery of natural gas to industry and consumers by increasing the production of both (WDGC) and Amreya Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to contribute to the local market.

Rational of the Environmental and Social impact assessment (ESIA)

This ESIA has been prepared based on the Terms of Reference prepared by GASCO and cleared by the World Bank; additionally, the national requirements regarding scope and detail of assessment and procedure, and gives particular emphasis to public information and stakeholder participation. It will identify and assess significant impacts the proposed project is likely to have on the local population and on human health; on land, soil, water, air and climate; on landscape; on biodiversity; and on cultural heritage. It will identify risks and will suggest mitigation measures where appropriate.

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Approach to the Study

 Kick off meetings with GASCO project’s team to understand their plans and

activities related to the proposed project;
 Conducting site visits to the project site, to collect the baseline data regarding the current environmental and social situation for the areas crossing by the route of the pipeline;
 Reviewing the available information and documents regarding the project including the required governmental permits;
 Carry out air and noise measurements in different areas crossing by the pipeline and comparing with national and international allowable limits;
 Assessment and evaluation of potential impacts of the proposed project;  Development of Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP);  Preparation and performing of the scoping session to analyze the response of

the different stakeholders and identify the impact of the stakeholders’

responses on the original work plan
 Performing Public Consultation in order to engage local key stakeholders within the governorate and involve them in the revision of the draft findings of the ESIA including the study of the various alternatives; and
 Develop an institutional development plan to ensure effective and efficient implementation of the proposed environmental and social management and monitoring activities.

Project Overview

The construction of the new pipeline will deliver the natural gas from Rasheed petroleum company ( it is the start point of Raven pipeline located onshore) to WDGC and Amreya LPG in Alexandria Governorate in order to facilitate the potential of future connection of natural gas to other industrial and residential areas in the areas crossing by the pipeline. However, GASCO main role is supplying industrial sector by natural gas not supplying natural gas to residential household. The connection of natural is under the role of the local distributor companies.

The submarine connection between the offshore field to starting point of the route of Raven pipeline is out of the project scope but a separate due diligence study will be prepared for offshore pipeline and also the offshore facility supply gas to the offshore pipeline

The 30’’ pipeline starts from valve Room 1 inside Rasheed Gas company in Edko district, 1 km away from the Mediterranean coast, then southwards to meet the international

coastal road and run parallel to it from the north side parallel to the existing 20’’pipeline

El Meadia/Edko for 14 km. It passes through Edko Lake and fish farms with a length of about 7 km from 18.800 km to 25.700 km and intersects with Petroleum Companies Road - Abu Bakir Rasheed Road and a number of canal and drainages. There are two valve

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rooms (2 and 3) parallel to the international coastal road from the north side. The pipeline cuts the international coastal road at 32.5 km where the proposed valve room 4 will exist then runs parallel to it from the south side to 42.5 km intersecting with Mahmudiyah canal cuts, Cairo / Alexandria agricultural road and Cairo / Alexandria railway.

Afterwards, it leaves the international coastal road and deviates to south west direction to intersect with the new Mariout Canal and the Dushoudi Drainage then runs parallel to the canal and the drainage from the western side up to 50.2 km where the proposed valve room 5 will be construct. It passes by El Amoom drainage, lake and asphalet road and runs parallel to el Hares el amoomy drainage from south east direction for 57.300 km then it intersects it with el hares (1) drainage to run parallel to the latter drainage from the south direction parallel to Nubaria navigational lake from the east side passing through agriculture lands and the proposed valve room 6 at 66.500 km. Finally, the pipeline cuts Nubaria navigational canal from the westward direction and West Drainage of Nubaria, railway to reach the end point in valve room 7 inside The Western Desert Gas Complex with a total of 70 km and 7 valve rooms (3 exists and 4 proposed) and 18 intersections

18’’ pipeline is branched from 30’’ pipeline . It starts from valve room 1 proposed to be constructed on the proposed Raven 30’’ natural gas pipeline from the south side of el hares

el Amoomy Drainage in Alexandria and then runs north-west for a distance of 4.5 km inside a Salt Lake (Malahat) and Maryot lake intersects with nubaria canal to reach the

proposed valve room 2’ next to the fence of the existing Amreya Liquefied Petroleum Gas

(LPG) Company and extend within the company for a distance of 500 meters until it

reaches the end point at valve Room 3’ with total distance of 5 km, 3 proposed valve

rooms and 3 main intersections(Maryot lake, hares el omoomy Drainage and nubaria canal).

Construction Phase

The project will be carried out by Petrojet, a contractor under GASCO’s supervision and control. It is expected that the engineering, procurement and construction phases will collectively take about 24 months. The following activities will be conducted in the construction phase:

• Right of Way(RoW) activities. • Pipe transportation and storage. • Trenching. • Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) or boring for the road crossings • Welding and inspection. • Coating and inspection • Wrapping of joints. • Ditching. • Installation of valves. • Tie-ins

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• Laying fiber-optic cables • Backfilling. • Pigging. • Hydrostatic test. • Dewatering. • Purging& commissioning. • Manufacturing and fittings for valves rooms (including civil, mechanical, and electric components).

The construction of the new gas pipelines will rely on Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) in crossing with waterways, main asphalet roads and railways.

Operation Phase

The operation phase is normally functioned through the central control unit through the SCADA system. Normal maintenance and monitoring work will be performed including patrolling to leakages and potential hazards detection. In case of leak detection, or damage in parts of the pipeline, the damaged part will be isolated and the necessary action will be taken according to the emergency response plan of GASCO.

Project Alternatives

The main target of the proposed project is to increase the natural gas supply to WDGC and Amreya LPG plant in order to increase the production rate of these plants and also to meet the growing national demand.

In case of having “No Action”, this will affect the petrochemical industry in Egypt as

Raven gas will be transferred through WDGC and Amreyia LPG to a set of petrochemical materials which are :-

1- 2- 3-
Mixture of ethane and propane. propane for export, LPG

Accordingly, in case there is no gas from RAVEN, the production of all the previous products can't be increased..

Hence, the “No Action” alternative is not accepted.

The preferred route was selected on parameters like:
• Study Area Identification: Identifying major features in the study area like main roadways, residential and commercial areas to help identify constraints during the selection of the routes
• Mapping the resources: Existing linear corridors include major streets, waterways, railroads, and utility lines. Existing linear corridors are considered opportunity areas for pipeline routing because they have already been developed and therefore

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are generally considered a compatible land use. In addition, these linear corridors generally provide existing access for construction and maintenance requirements.

In addition, the choice of the pipeline route put into consideration some technical aspects set by GASCO including the following:

• Construct far from residential areas as much as possible; • Cross roads in appropriate areas; • Avoid pipe passage from congested areas; • Accessibility of the construction area and facilitating the implementing of the construction work;
• Proximity to the existing gas network as much as possible;

• Avoid route crossing by any of cultural heritage areas, graveyards and prayers houses;
• Routes run parallel to existing utility lines (such as power lines)

Based on these criteria, the line route for the proposed project was chosen. The point of intersection with waterways is chosen in coordination with the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation.

At the point where the pipeline will cross Edko lake and the drainages, there are no residential areas located there or anticipated that it will be in future as these areas are classified as prohibited lands to build upon it. The fact that made it the best chosen route of the pipeline. The chosen pipeline route achieves the environmental and social targets, and at the same time aligns with GASCO’s strategy, which aims at choosing routes already containing existing infrastructure (paved roads), and minimizing intersection with residential areas.

Environmental and Social Impacts Positive Impacts

Implementation of the proposed project is expected to lead to a number of positive social and economic benefits, for example:

1. The project is expected to result in the creation of job opportunities in the construction phase, both directly and indirectly;  Expanding the natural gas network will positively provide an energy source to local industries which will indirectly create job opportunities;
 Expanding the natural gas network will enhance the national plans to increase the number of natural gas household connections; and
 Variation of the energy mix in order to reduce the dependency on imported fuel.

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Environmental Construction Impacts

The main negative impacts expected during the project construction are as follows:
 Dust emissions during the construction phase due to the on-site activities (site preparation, excavation, etc);
 The aquatic environment can be impacted in case of improper implementing of
HDD while crossing them, disposal of construction wastes or debris in the waterways, and in case of improper disposal of water resulting from hydrostatic testing;
 Increase in noise level resulting from the construction equipment, and other excavation and construction works;
 The possibility of affecting the existing infrastructure such as water and wastewater

networks pipes, telephone connections…etc. during the construction activities;

 Management of the different types of waste including domestic, hazardous and construction waste, such as Soil, Concrete, welding belts, used oils, starting from their storage onsite until the final disposal;
 Occupational Health and Safety aspects;  Natural disasters that might lead to delays in the work schedule;  Traffic’s impacts due to the increase in the number of trucks transporting construction materials and equipment to the site;
 Effect on land use due to the excavation activities and road crossings with the pipeline route during the construction phase;
 Adverse effect on the flora and fauna in the project site, especially the agricultural areas, during the season in which the construction activities will be undertaken; and
 Accidents and hazards that may occur such as oil leaks from the equipment.

Following the implementation of the listed mitigation measures as mentioned in chapter 8, the significance of the negative impacts is considered to be medium and low.

Environmental Operation Impacts

While the main impact expected during operation is in case of pipeline failure, a significant amount of natural gas will be released and may cause major risks to the surrounding communities and the environment. However, GASCO is applying and following Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System (SCADA) which is a highly sophisticated integrated system used to control the national natural gas pipeline network. The SCADA system performs remote controlling of the valve rooms to adjust the operating pressure and early detection of any change of pressure in pipeline to prevent the leakage of natural gas.

Social Construction Impacts

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 Permanent land acquisition for the establishment of the proposed 4 valve rooms located along the route of the pipeline. In such cases, the common rule of GASCO is to provide full replacement cost for purchasing the land as per the market price (using a willing seller – willing buyer approach) under satisfactory, agreeable and appropriate agreement. It might be roughly suggested that each of the land plots (25m x 45 m) for each of the valve rooms is owned by one farmer.
 Temporary land acquisition and the subsequent impact of damaging crops. A
Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) will be prepared guided by the WB Resettlement Policy OP 4.12. The RAP involves a full inventory survey for the PAPs and valuation for the compensation that should be paid.
 Temporary negative impacts on livelihoods for some small businesses and other industrial activities. The construction works may limit access to those businesses for some time. In some cases, small businesses may be the sole source of impacts for the affected persons.
 Potential temporary inconvenience as result of the construction activities. This could be in the form of accumulation of wastes (both construction and domestic waste in the construction areas, associated odor, air emissions, especially dust as a result of excavation. These impacts are of temporary nature and will be of very limited level of severity, particularly since the construction activities will be in farms and not populated areas.
 The number of workers varies according to the size of the work in each area; Given the size of population in project sites and the availability of most of services, the limited number of workers (100 workers) which will not lead to either temporarily labor influx nor any significant impact on the community resource. The implementing companies will rely on unskilled labor whom are often from areas adjacent to the project areas. As such, labors are not permanently resident during the project duration, which minimize their presence in the project areas, as well as their limitation to the working hours only. Consequently, it will lead to the absence of potential impacts for high prices or rental values of homes in the project areas. Moreover, there are no potential effects of temporary labor influx on the culture of the society in the project areas.
 Risks of damaging existing community infrastructure, especially water pipes that are not mapped, can have detrimental social repercussions. Disruption of other utility services such as electricity and communications can also be a nuisance to those affected.
 Streets rehabilitation or restoration (ﻹصلهinstallations covered by the Egyptian legal/institutional expression that signifies the

responsibility to “restore to original condition”. Delays in street restoration may lead

to varying degrees of damage to vehicles, loss of access and business, traffic congestions with associated delays and emissions, and a potentially significant public discontentment.

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Social Operation Impacts

 The possibility of a gas leakage or the occurrence of fires, which could affect the residents in the area, is a concern;
 Impacts related to the easement of the RoW: potential expansion of the residential area close to the pipeline routes. The land cannot be used for construction as an urban area after that. This is considered a negative impact to the land owners.
 Additional crop damage as a result of maintenance or surveillance activities is also a possibility.
 The market value of the land is expected to decrease after construction of the pipeline.

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Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP)

The following Tables show the ESMP outline for the proposed pipeline during the construction and operation phases. The preliminary cost for the general implementation and supervision for all the proposed mitigation measures was estimated to be according to the general implementation/supervision cost.

Table 0-1 -Mitigation Measures and supervision responsibility during construction and operation phases

Potential Environmental Impact

Proposed Mitigation Measures

Responsibility of Responsibility

Mitigation direct supervision
Construction of Estimated Cost

Air

Gaseous Emissions

Petrojet, Contractor the GASCO HSE site General supervisor Implementation/su pervision cost
• Implementation maintenance machinery of schedule regular for

• Ensuring that vehicles and equipment will not be left running unnecessarily to reduce gaseous and exhaust emissions from diesel engines

Dust Emissions

• Water spraying before excavation, filling, loading and unloading
• Spraying of stockpiles, the storage area will be covered

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Mitigation direct supervision of Estimated Cost

• Using paved routes to access the site wherever possible.
• Sheeting of Lorries transporting friable construction materials

• Ensuring

transportation

of

construction waste by a licensed contractor
• Minimizing drop heights for material transfer activities such as unloading of friable materials
• Excavated bypass dust will be treated as hazardous waste.
• Liquid waste generated such as Petrojet, chemicals and drains should be Contractor collected in suitable tanks the GASCOHSE supervisor site



General Implement ation/
• The water resulting from the hydrostatic test of the pipeline is collected in onsite tanks and then is transported directly to the nearest waste water treatment plant after coordinating with the wastewater company and MWRI in order to reduce the impacts on the aquatic environment. supervision cost
Water

bodies/Wastewater generation

Sampling

cost:

6500 EGP/ sample

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Mitigation direct supervision of Estimated Cost