The XIII International Annual Conference “New high technologies in the oil and gas industry, power production and communications” (CITOGIC’2003) was held on 9 – 13 September in St.Petrsburg.

Mr. Alexander Ananenkov, Gazprom’s Management Committee Deputy Chairman, made a report on the outlooks of developing and implementing high-tech projects in the Company. In particular, he noted that Gazprom would remain Russia’s major gas producing and transportation company for the years to come. Experience in developing gas fields under complex conditions, and in operating the existing gas transmission system and a network of underground gas storage facilities ensures secure gas supply to both domestic and foreign consumers.

At the same time, a number of complicated problems to maintain gas production even in the nearest future should be also solved.

The low cost Senoman gas epoch has completed, and now it’s necessary to urgently introduce advanced technologies to continue further development of the field; implementation of advanced technologies should improve the efficiency of investments allocated for equipment modernization and repair. Recent studies conducted in the gas industry allowed to substantiate the feasibility of new technologies for stimulation of depleted or water-bearing gas formations in order to extract residual and occluded gas. The laboratory experiments proved that final gas recovery could be significantly increased by nitrogen injection into depleted layer. The laboratory work has already been completed; at present, the technology pilot testing is planned at a field in the north of the Tyumen oblast. According to Alexander Ananenkov, implementation of the new technology on site will enable to additionally produce 1.5–2 tcm of gas and to extend production life of the field.

Another core activity direction is the construction of new capacities for natural gas production, processing and transportation, since 72% of gas will be produced from new fields in 2020. To solve the problem, it’s necessary to further develop existing pipeline network, to build gas liquefaction units on production sites, to create infrastructure for LNG transportation to consumers by special tankers, and to convert chemicals into synthetic liquid fuels with consequent transportation by standard tankers or through pipelines.

The 3rd most important objective is the creation of principally new types of equipment and technologies for gas production under extreme conditions – on the Ob and Taz Bays, in the Barents Sea deep waters, at fields of the Yamal peninsula. Offshore gas will be produced by surface and underwater systems to be designed and deployed. The latter requires construction of ice-resistant platforms designed for well drilling and gas collection and treatment. The Kara Sea fields will be developed under the most severe conditions, due to presence of pack ice on the Arctic Ocean surface. Hypothetical reserves of these offshore fields are estimated at 30 tcm. According to Alexander Anannenkov, one of the possible ways of developing those fields is to build underwater systems for well drilling and operation, gas treatment and gas supply to onshore facilities.

“This project in unparalleled. The project implementation requires development of advanced technologies to ensure realization of the “underwater space” idea”, - stressed Alexander Ananenkov.

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The CITOGIC International technological conference is held to acquaint public with advanced technologies appeared in the basic sectors of the Russian economy, in the mining sector in the first place. The Conference is intended to summarize the technological and production experience of specialists from the gas, oil, power, communications and other industries as well as to test and recommend new conversion technologies for implementation in the oil and gas production and processing sectors.

This Conference has been held in Russia since 1991. Ever since, the forum was held in 8 subjects of the Russian Federation. Representatives from 32 countries took part in the Conference. The forum is a meeting place for top managers and specialists from the state bodies, scientific organizations, leading oil and gas producing, power generating and communications companies of the EU and CIS countries.

The forum was organized with participation of the RF Academy of Technological Sciences, authorities of Russia’s major industrial regions, and Gazprom.

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