State-of-the-Art Technologies: Dialogue with Leaders in the Oil and Gas Sector

KEY CONCLUSIONS

Gas remains a popular resource

“The movement that [...] the energy transition should be accelerated to abandon oil and gas [...] has been forced upon us […] This was said to be the ultimate truth […] Banks and investors reacted to this by curtailing investments in the development of oil and gas [...] This served as the basis for the crisis that [...] we are seeing in the global energy sector […] We understand that gas is a very powerful, eco-friendly energy resource [...] The oil and gas era has been prematurely declared as over,” Gazprom Deputy Chairman of the Management Board and Director of the Prospective Development Department Oleg Aksyutin said.

“Russia is a country in which the oil and gas sector plays a huge role. Consequently, we need to utilize the potential that we have and not follow [the trend of] technologies that are not profitable for us,” Wormholes Introduction CEO Oleg Zhuravlev said.

Developing new fields poses complex technological challenges that Russia is ready to solve

“Gas reserves in the traditional region are declining, and new production regions are emerging […] The geological structure and blend composition of the gas there is different, and the distances and surface infrastructure of the territory are also different. Based on these challenges, we are setting technological and technical priorities […] The blend compositions require the development of processing facilities […] taking into account the specifics of the deposits of the Far East, the proper development of technologies, and the ability to monetize these resources as much as possible. New fields and [...] the state of current fields pose certain challenges, which we are addressing today as part of work with our industry institutes, the Russian Academy of Sciences, and companies,” Aksyutin said.

“We are ready to be a region that [implements projects], including the creation of testing grounds and the development of technologies and equipment. We believe the Bazhen federal project is moving forward effectively […] Technologies, equipment, and approaches are being developed there. Fewer and fewer new unique large deposits are being discovered around the world. Typically, these are hard-to-recover reserves [such as] shale oil and gas [...] We consider this trend to be extremely promising,” Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area – Yugra Governor Natalya Komarova said.

Technological sovereignty in the oil and gas sector is crucial to sustainable development

“The issue of technological independence is essential and fundamental […] We must rely on the development of our own technologies and industry […] This involves systematic work that affects numerous operational layers of any enterprise or organization, and poses serious challenges. But we won’t be able to do it any other way. There will probably be an intermediate stage […] when we attract and use equipment, including from other countries […], but the focus should be on developing our own, basic domestic equipment,” Aksyutin said.

PROBLEMS

The ‘catch-up’ pace of import substitution

“You can never play a catch-up role. If the goal of your development is to replace what you already have, you probably won’t be successful, because the development cycle is 5–7 years. While you are catching up, those who have been professionally working on this in the past will be 5–7 years ahead. You will always be doomed to [...] a catch-up role. We have an objective of replacing [technologies] here and now, but, at the same time, we have the goal of staying ahead of the curve,” Member of the Management Board and Managing Director for Development and Innovation of SIBUR Darya Borisova said.

“In 5–6 years [...] we have doubled our workforce [...] due to new production facilities […] We are investing a lot and building and now operating [new facilities]: last year, we launched five new gas processing plants. This year, we will launch another one, and next year two more, including a polymer plant [...] Today, more and more skilled professionals are needed,” Irkutsk Oil Company CEO Yakov Ginzburg said.

The high cost of reducing carbon emissions

“In recent years, we have managed to discover significant natural gas reserves […] We need to take advantage of these resources both for domestic consumption and for export [...] We need to think about how to reduce emissions into the atmosphere. We need to create opportunities for capturing and storing carbon dioxide [...] but the costs associated with this are still very high,” Director General of Oil and Gas at the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Tutuka Ariadji said.

SOLUTIONS

The government should promote the development of the tech business

“The government should promote the development of what we call the tech business […] State-owned technology companies need to appear that would create new technologies and sell them on the market [...] If a technology is created, it needs […] to be sold for a while, and then a large continuous flow of such technologies will emerge. If a technology is created and introduced one time at some company and then not sold, it’s a one-time solution [...] The resolve of companies [...] to create pilot units is crucial […] What’s fundamentally important here is not just financial support from the state, but also benefits that would facilitate this process. Because the risks that the company takes on are very high,” Director of the Topchiev Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis of the Russian Academy of Sciences Anton Maksimov said.

“The government provides support when it has a partner who understands the scope of investment and how he will organize its implementation. Along with the development of fundamental science, we, as an industrial partner, are preparing our infrastructure for commercialization [...] An industrial partner must have a certain degree of maturity and readiness to accept and commercialize developments, especially advanced developments,” Borisova said.

“Fundamental science should not develop technologies. It should develop approaches and ideas [...] The government’s role is to create the need for new technologies among companies,” Zhuravlev said.

For more information, visit the Roscongress Foundation’s Information and Analytical System at roscongress.org/en.

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