Russian Energy Week International Forum 2018 Outcomes

October 8, 2018

The key theme of the Russian Energy Week International Forum 2018 (3–6 October 2018) was Sustainable Energy for a Changing World. The plenary session got underway with an address from Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

“A record number of professionals came to take part in this Russian Energy Week, and included all those interested in the energy industry approximately nine and a half thousand people altogether came to discuss the global energy agenda in an open, trusting way. It is no secret that Russia is one of the largest players on the world energy market. We occupy a leading position in the extraction and export of oil and gas, and we are among the leaders in terms of electricity generation and coal production. It is extremely important for us to be sensitive to trends in the global energy industry in order to effectively realize our competitive advantages and, together with other countries, form a common energy space and a common energy future,” Putin said.

The Forum was held with the support of the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation, the Government of Moscow, and the Roscongress Foundation.

“As a world leader in the fuel and energy industry, Russia contributes significantly to shaping the global energy agenda. I am glad that the heads of energy departments and companies as well as experts from different countries choose Moscow and REW to discuss issues in energy industry development,” Alexander Novak said.

1. REW 2018 business programme

The Forum’s business programme consisted of two main blocks: 

The first, Global Energy Agenda, touched upon aspects of energy development in a changing world, from the issue of access to environmentally friendly fuels in APR countries and Africa to the development of energy and the use of new technologies in the Arctic. Participants discussed the global energy market, challenges facing the global electric power industry, the latest developments in energy efficiency and savings, the future of renewable energy resources and atomic energy. For the first time, a new OPEC report, the World Oil Outlook (WOO) 2018, was presented as part of REW. The report provides a detailed analysis of various factors affecting the global oil market in the medium and long term up to 2040.

The second block was entitled Development Plans for the Russian Fuel and Energy Industry. The track’s agenda widely covered the achievements and issues in the coal, oil, gas, petrochemical, and electric power sectors of the modern domestic fuel and energy industry, especially in the events of industry sessions.

Furthermore, the Forum’s business programme included a ranking of Russian regions according to the efficiency of their heating supply systems, a nationwide meeting ‘Realizing Energy-Saving Potential to Ensure the Success of the Housing and Urban Environment National Project’, a round table ‘Alternative Energy in Transport: Present and Future’, and a lecture ‘Renewable Energy in Russia: Current State and Future Prospects’. “The tasks up for discussion at Russian Energy Week are of relevance to foreign countries as well as to the regions of Russia, and the many delegations that visited the Forum are a confirmation of this fact. Energy is the foundation upon which life is based; it is a source of social stability and well-being for people. And that is what makes the Forum unique, since it pays equal attention to the economic, environmental, educational, and scientific aspects of our life, which includes energy security,” Adviser to the President of the Russian Federation, Deputy Chairman of the Organizing Committee and Executive Secretary Anton Kobyakov said.

The Forum’s main programme consisted of 67 events of various formats, including a plenary session, panel sessions, round tables, lectures, meetings between industry experts, and so forth. 471 speakers took part in the Forum’s business programme.

“Russian Energy Week provided a unique opportunity for Russian energy industry experts to express their views on topical issues, take part in discussions on the development of the industry, and also hear the position of leading world experts,” Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation and Deputy Chairman of the Organizing Committee Anton Inyutsyn said. 20 foreign ministers spoke at the Forum, including: Minister of Energy of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Parviz Shahbazov, Minister of Industry and Mines of the Republic of Algeria Youcef Yousfi, Minister of Science and Technology of the Government of Bangladesh Yafes Osman, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Energy and Industry of Qatar Mohammed Saleh Al Sada, Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia, Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Mining and Energy of Serbia Aleksandar Antić, Minister of Energy of Sierra Leone Alhaji Kanja Sesay, Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons of Equatorial Guinea Gabriel Obiang Lima, and Minister of Petroleum and Mining of South Sudan Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth among others.

A Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) panel session was held as part of REW, summaries were given and winners received their awards for the fourth All-Russian competition for mass media, energy industry and regional administration press services MediaTEK, and the International Summit of Mayors on Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Urban Development took place along with the presentation of the Global Energy Prize. REW 2018 Youth Day saw ‘Energy Breakthrough’ intellectual energy industry project competition winners receive their awards, the CASE-IN International Engineering Championship take place, the official distribution of awards to the winners of the ‘Energy of Youth Initiatives’ competition, and the final of the #TogetherBrighter contest for best flash mob.

12 exhibitors from the industry exhibition presented cutting edge research at their stands. These included Gazprom, Rosseti, Novatek, Rosatom, Fortum, RusHydro, Transneft, SIBUR, Rosneft, the Government of Moscow, the Republic of Tatarstan, and the Global Energy Prize.

The #TogetherBrighter Youth Day took place on the final day of REW (6 October) and saw more than 3 thousand young industry specialists, students, and schoolchildren take part. A key event of Youth Day was the informal meeting with Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak and Minister of Science and Higher Education Mikhail Kotyukov.

 2. Work with participants

The 2018 Forum was attended by more than 9,500 people, over 3,000 of which participated in Youth Day. Approximately 3,000 were representatives of Russian and foreign business, including employees of some 700 companies from Russia and 200 foreign companies from 66 other countries, such as Austria, Azerbaijan, Angola, Great Britain, Vietnam, Germany, Denmark, Indonesia, Spain, Italy, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Cyprus, China, Libya, Luxembourg, Nigeria, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, the USA, Finland, France, Switzerland, and Japan. More than 400 Russian and 38 foreign companies were represented by company heads. Forum business events were attended by the heads of international organizations and associations: Yuri Senturin, Secretary General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum; Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, Secretary General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries; Sun Xiansheng, Secretary General of the International Energy Forum; Christoph Frei, Secretary General, Chief Executive Officer, World Energy Council; Benoit Lebot, Executive Director of the Secretariat, International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation (IPEEC).

Also participating was the First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, Ivica Dacic, 20 foreign ministers and 30 diplomatic leaders. Russian officials taking part in Forum events over four days included Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak; Presidential Aide Andrey Belousov; Energy Minister Alexander Novak; Minister of Construction, Housing, and Utilities Vladimir Yakushev; Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova; Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov; Mayor of Moscow Sergey Sobyanin; Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Housing and Utilities Reform Fund Sergei Stepashin; and the heads of 5 federal services and agencies and approximately 20 heads of constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

Representatives of Russian and foreign business included: Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Board, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of Gazprom; Viktor Zubkov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Gazprom, Special Presidential Representative for Cooperation with the Gas Exporting Countries Forum; Vagit Alekperov, President, Member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Management Committee, LUKOIL; Alexey Likhachev, Chief Executive Officer, ROSATOM State Atomic Energy Corporation; Sergey Kudryashov, General Director, Zarubezhneft; Pavel Livinsky, General Director, Chairman of the Board, Rosseti; Leonid Mikhelson, Chairman of the Management Board, Member of the Board of Directors, NOVATEK; Herman Gref, Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of the Executive Board of Sberbank; Oleg Belozerov, Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of the Executive Board of Russian Railways; Dmitry Konov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SIBUR Holding; Anatoly Chubais, Chairman of the Executive Board, RUSNANO Corporation; Kirill Dmitriev, Chief Executive Officer, Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF); Joe Kaeser, President, Chief Executive Officer of Siemens AG; Francesco Starace, Chief Executive Officer, General Manager, Enel S.p.А.; Patrick Pouyanne, Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of the Board, Total; Ben van Beurden, Chief Executive Officer, Royal Dutch Shell Plc

160 volunteers were brought in to work with Forum participants and guests from 3 to 6 October. 

3. Agreements

Ten agreements were signed during the Forum, including the Intergovernmental Protocol to the agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan (on trade and economic cooperation in the field of oil and oil product supply to the Republic of Kazakhstan).

The most significant of the signed documents include: 

a long-term loan agreement between Nizhnekamskneftekhim and Deutsche Bank to cover the Euler Hermes insurance policy on construction of a new power plant in the amount of approximately 240 million euros to the end of 2033;

an agreement on cooperation in the modernization of street lighting between the Administration of the Tambov Region and SFERRUM. Investments amount to approximately RUB 50 million;

an agreement on a strategic partnership and cooperation between NOVATEK and Siemens;

an agreement on the implementation of a pilot project for the installation of energy storage systems at solar power plants in the Altai Republic between IDGC of Siberia, Hevel and SAFT;

an agreement on expanding cooperation between TAIF and Siemens;

a cooperation agreements signed by the Roscongress Foundation and the KAZENERGY Kazakhstan Association of Oil-Gas and Energy Sector Organizations;

a cooperation agreement between the Government of the Chukotka Autonomous Region and RASU;

a memorandum of understanding between SPIMEX and S&P Global Platts;

an agreement on a strategic partnership between Rosseti and Sberbank.

4. Media

Badges were issued to 750 media representatives (650 Russian, 100 foreign) from 154 organizations (114 Russian, 40 foreign). Badges were issued to representatives of 18 foreign countries: Azerbaijan, Great Britain, Hungary, Vietnam, Germany, Israel, Iraq, Iran, Qatar, China, Cuba, Kuwait, Serbia, Syria, USA, France, Switzerland, Japan.

10 federal media agencies were awarded the Information Partner status for REW 2018: Russia 24, Business FM, Rambler (RNS, Lenta.ru, Gazeta.ru), TASS, Russia Today, Interfax, Izvestia, Kommersant, RBC, and Rossiyskaya Gazeta, as well as 16 industry media agencies, including the newspaper Energy and Industry of Russia, Nedra, the Ruscable portal, Avok-press, Neftegaz.ru, Energoprogress, Camelot Publishing, the magazines Automation and IT in the Energy Industry, Energopolis, Energy without Borders, Oil and Gas Field Engineering, Digital Substation, Exposition Oil Gas, Unified Network Energy, Electrical Trade, and Oil and Capital.

5. Forum Sporting Programme 

The Roscongress Squash Cup made its debut in the Russian Energy Week sporting programme. Pavel Fedorov, 1st Vice-President of Rosneft, and representatives of the Russian Ministry of Energy and leading energy companies took to the courts of the newly opened Moscow Squash Club. Managing partner of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP Mikhail Loktionov won the men’s tournament, while Elena Anashkina, Development Director of the Northern Capital JSC, came out on top in the women’s.

6. Information Services

The REW 2018 mobile application (rew 2018) provides the most up-to-date event information and services. 

The application served as a participant tool for planning work and interaction at the Forum. Key application features include:

– information about the Forum programme;

– video broadcasts of business events;

– messaging with other participants;

– meeting coordination;

– personal schedule creation;

– navigation around the Forum site.

Forum Event Broadcasting. Live broadcasts of the plenary session and other business programme events were displayed on flat-panel televisions located at the Forum site. In addition to the broadcasts on the TVs, news announcements and business, cultural, and sports programme schedules were announced.

Business programme events were available for viewing in real time on the Forum website in the Programme section and can be viewed in the archive following the event.

REW Photo Bank. The Roscongress Foundation photographed all events taking place as part of REW and other events organized by the Foundation. All Forum photos are available at http://photo.roscongress.org/ru/55/albums for viewing and free download in high resolution and may be used provided the necessary link to the Roscongress Foundation has been included.

The Roscongress Foundation Information and Analytical System. The platform is an interactive library of knowledge and a system for navigating sessions, speakers and moderators, analytical materials, and topics of the country's development agenda discussed at Roscongress Foundation events. 

The Summary service was integrated into the work of the information and analytical system of the Roscongress Foundation as part of Russian Energy Week. The information product of the Roscongress Foundation and TASS will provide a brief analytical summary important discussions taking place during REW.

For more convenient navigation, the user may search for the necessary information in the information and analytical system by section: Agenda, Events, Analytics, Participants, and Roscongress Foundation. The news feed on the portal includes major events and forum business, cultural, and sports programme announcements, including those for REW.

The Russian Energy Week International Forum was organized by the Roscongress Foundation.

The official website of the event: https://rusenergyweek.com/

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