News from projects and regions
A joint scientific and practical conference of TMK and Gazprom took place today. The conference was focused on the use of innovative solutions in developing new hydrocarbon fields. The event was held at the recently opened R&D center of TMK in Skolkovo.
The conference participants discussed the prospects of cooperation in designing new products and took part in a roundtable entitled “Modern Domestic Technologies for Onshore and Offshore Hydrocarbon Prospecting, Production and Transportation: Future Requirements, Trends and Tendencies.” At the end of the event, the promising areas of work were outlined for the next five-year scientific and technical cooperation program between Gazprom and TMK.
“The expansion of hydrocarbon production in new regions gives rise to new technological challenges and stricter requirements to equipment, its reliability and efficiency. In order to work out the best solutions, we need to engage the expert community as much as possible, as well as to use the innovative potential of the external environment. Today’s pipe-themed conference in Skolkovo is a great example of using cutting-edge innovative infrastructure to advance sci-tech cooperation between equipment manufacturers and consumers,” said Maxim Nedzvetsky, Deputy Head of Department at Gazprom, Director General of Gazprom VNIIGAZ.
“The conference has given us a great opportunity to openly discuss the existing and future projects, outline solutions and exchange experience together with numerous specialists, engineers and scientists. I firmly believe that both we and our colleagues from Gazprom and Gazprom VNIIGAZ will continue gatherings of this kind, as they are extremely helpful in developing innovative products,” said Sergey Chikalov, Deputy Director General for Technical Sales and Innovations at TMK.
Within the framework of the conference, Maxim Nedzvetsky and Igor Pyshmintsev, heads of Gazprom VNIIGAZ and TMK’s R&D center, signed an agreement for cooperation and collaboration. The agreement provides for R&D activities with the purpose of designing high-potential products and technologies, as well as improvement and drafting of regulatory documents.
The conference participants viewed unique equipment installed at TMK’s R&D center during a tour led by Igor Pyshmintsev. The equipment is the only set of test benches for full-scale physical tests of pipes, fittings and other complex structures in Russia. The benches can be used to carry out studies involving tensioning, compression, bending with high external and internal pressure and extreme temperature conditions.
Background
Gazprom VNIIGAZ, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gazprom, is a research center focused on technology design and development for the gas industry, including gas field exploration and development, offshore oil and gas development, gas processing and treatment; regulatory support, design and operation of gas transmission systems and underground gas storage facilities; and environmental safety and energy efficiency.
The company has a staff of more than 1,000 scientists, including 311 top-tier professionals (52 doctors of science, 259 PhD holders, and two Corresponding Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences) and over 400 young researchers and engineers. The company’s science and technology complex is composed of more than 100 production and research labs and upward of 60 experimental benches and installations, with the oldest postgraduate training program in the industry and a number of dissertation committees currently active.
TMK is a global provider of steel pipes, tubular products and related services for the oil and gas industry. The company owns production assets in Russia, Romania and Kazakhstan, with threaded oil and gas pipes accounting for the largest share of sales to more than 80 countries. In addition to product supplies, TMK provides a wide range of services, including heat treatment, application of protective coatings, threading of premium connections, and pipe storage and repair. The company is enhancing its research and technical competencies and designing innovative tubular products at the R&D center in Skolkovo andthe Russian Research Institute of the Tube & Pipe Industries (RosNITI). TMK’s shares are listed on London Stock Exchange and Moscow Exchange.
