Meeting participants discussed the strategic foundations of innovative activity in the oil and gas sector, and forms of joint work carried out by the Government, leading oil and gas companies and research institutes.
According to Deputy Prime Minister and Chief of Staff of the Government Executive Office Vladislav Surkov, the main objective today is not simply to adopt the existing innovative experience of certain facilities but to seek out exclusive and bold technological solutions among Russian research and development projects. Surkov stressed that some of the basic elements of a traditional innovative chain have been created already in Russia. The only serious deficiency is the shortage of testing fields, experimental centres and production facilities, which constitute an important element.
It is necessary to move from general institutional tasks to more concrete, specialised tasks. For example, in the oil and gas sector, incentives must be created for developing breakthrough technology in hydrocarbon exploration, production, storage and transportation. This requires direct cooperation between major universities, specialised academic institutions and oil and gas companies. “On this point, I am in complete agreement with Igor Sechin, the secretary of the Commission for the Strategic Development of the Fuel and Energy Sector and Environmental Security under the President of Russia, as well as with Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, and I am in direct contact with both men. This cooperation will help us to develop and adopt innovative projects in the oil and gas sector,” Mr Surkov said.
At the meeting, the decision was taken to create working groups under the Consultative Council of the Ministry of Energy in three priority areas: improving the efficiency of oil field exploration by increasing the co-efficient of oil production; augmenting the hydrocarbon resource base; and increasing the share of hydrocarbon extracted using offshore production technology. The main objective of these working groups will be organising field-specific cooperation with expert and research communities, selecting and implementing research projects by oil and gas companies and improving the sector’s legal and regulatory framework. This work will be carried out jointly with the Skolkovo Foundation, which has gained positive experience through the Uniheat Centre of Applied Research on Energy Efficient Heat Exchange and Catalysis (a joint project of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Boreskov Institute of Catalysis, Novosibirsk State University and the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine). This project entails developing and commercialising technology in 12 areas, including new methods to measure the properties of oil deposits, new methods of studying chemical and physical properties of oil, highly efficient heat recovery, mathematical modelling of reactions, and heat conduction in petrochemical processes.
The meeting was attended by representatives of major Russian and international oil and gas companies (Gazprom, Gazprom Neft, Rosneft, Lukoil, Bashneft, Shell Russia, Statoil Russia, Tatneft, Surgutneftegaz, Eni, ExxonMobil Russia), research scientists of leading specialised universities (Krylov All-Russian Oil and Gas Research Institute, Gubkin Russian State Oil and Gas University).