MOSCOW (MRC) -- Gazprom Neft and the Republic of Tatarstan have signed an agreement on developing oil and gas projects, and on cooperating in developing enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technologies, under a document signed by Alexander Dyukov, Chairman of the Management Board, Gazprom Neft, and Rustam Minnikhanov, President of the Republic of Tatarstan, said the company.
The parties have agreed to cooperate in developing high-tech oil equipment much in demand by the industry, as well as establishing technological test sites in the Volga Federal District and Western Siberia for joint R&D activities. The document also envisages increasing cooperation in geological subsoil investigations, hydrocarbon production and refining, developing the petroleum-products supply system, and a number of other areas.
Modern EOR techniques are a key tool in developing mature fields, and in developing hard-to-recover reserves. These technologies will facilitate the production of significant volumes of hydrocarbon reserves, viable production of which is not possible using existing solutions. The full-scale deployment of innovative EOR methodologies is hindered by their high cost and the need to develop Russian production of the necessary equipment and reagents.
Pilot projects implemented at Gazprom Neft have already confirmed the potential for a 20% increase in oil recovery using surfactant-polymer flooding technologies. Tatneft will be one of Gazprom Neft’s strategic partners in developing this area.
As per MRC, Lukoil and Gazprom Neft concluded an agreement on cooperation in implementation of oil recovery enhancement projects. The agreement provides for joint work on improving chemical methods of enhanced oil recovery. It will lay the foundation for best practices exchange and collaboration in lab research, as well as for studies of surface-active agents and production stimulation chemicals.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,396,960 tonnes in January-July 2021, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 841,990 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 29% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.
Gazprom Neft (headquartered in St. Petersburg, part of Gazprom, which owns 95.68% of the shares) is one of the largest Russian oil companies.
MRC