OREANDA-NEWS. The Gazprom Neft Board of Directors has reviewed and approved the company’s 2020 innovative development program. The program builds upon the principles set forth in Gazprom’s innovative development program, and covers all of Gazprom Neft’s operations, including the upstream and downstream branches.

In an effort to achieve its strategic goals, Gazprom Neft is using cutting edge technologies offered by leading Russian and international companies. It is also developing fundamentally new solutions in partnership with leading Russian R&D centers and universities. The perfecting of the corporate knowledge management system, which involves acquisition, dissemination, and creation of new best practices, will become yet another important focus in the company’s work.

The main priorities for the innovative development in the company’s upstream branch include the development and practical application of innovative oil recovery enhancement technologies at existing oil fields, and the efficient development of tight and unconventional reserves. In particular, the program involves substantial investment in the industrial implementation of such strategically significant innovative technologies as three-phase chemical flooding and multi-stage hydraulic fracturing.

Gazprom Neft is currently implementing an Electronic Oil Field program, which includes a set of analytical and technical tools to control the field development. The company’s functional Geological Drilling Support Center gives it a real time monitoring capability, thus speeding up the drilling operations and cutting costs.

The company has done a great scope of work to upgrade its refining capacity. Gazprom Neft is one of the leaders in Russia in terms of the technological complexity of its refineries, as measured according to the Nelson complexity index. It is the number one Russian company in terms of light oil products yield. Furthermore, the fuel it produces meets the highest environmental standards, Euro 4 and Euro 5.

Further renovation and the commissioning of new units at Gazprom Neft oil refineries will substantially increase the crude oil conversion rate and reduce the production of heavy fuel oil. It will also improve the refineries’ operational efficiency. According to the company’s development strategy by 2020 the conversion rate will exceed 90 percent, while the light oil products yield will reach 77 percent. The use of innovative technologies will help increase the oil refining margin, cut overheads, and improve the consumer characteristics of the products.

The R&D efforts of the company’s downstream branch will be focused on improving product quality, increasing the oil conversion rate, and making its production more efficient and “greener”. High-priority projects include the development of technologies for the deep conversion of dark residue and an environmentally friendly technology for the refining of light oil products. The development of a catalyst production facility at the Omsk Oil Refinery has become another important project for the company.

“Utilizing innovations is a necessary condition for raising the competitiveness of any modern company, increasing its production and financial indicators, reducing its environmental impact, and improving the quality of people’s lives. Putting together a program and actively utilizing technological innovations will create a solid foundation for Gazprom Neft to achieve the goals set forth in the company’s 2020 strategy. In particular, nearly one fifth of the company’s production will come through the use of innovations, while our refineries’ indicators will be on the level of the best Western companies,” noted Gazprom Neft Management Board Chairman Alexander Dyukov.