Roundtable on Modern Technologies for Hydrocarbon Prospecting, Exploration and Production, and Biotechnologies for Enhanced Oil Recovery and the Remediation of Oil-Contaminated Soils held at the Institute of Geology and Petroleum Technologies as part of the 15th Forum of Engineering and Technology Universities of the Union State
“The key objective of the event was to foster interdisciplinary dialogue among petroleum engineers, chemists and biotechnologists in order to develop integrated solutions for enhancing oil recovery and reducing the environmental impact of industrial activities. The roundtable featured engaging presentations covering a wide range of topics. The discussions were highly productive and informative,” said Danis Nurgaliev, Director of the Institute of Geology and Petroleum Technologies.
Kazan Federal University’s research was presented by Dmitry Emelyanov, a Research Associate at the Research Laboratory of Chemical Methods for Enhanced Oil Recovery and Production Stimulation within KFU’s Small-Tonnage Chemical Technology Park (Thermochemistry and Kinetics of the Oxidation of Individual Aliphatic and Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Crude Oils over a Wide Range of Temperatures and Pressures); Aliya Fakhrieva, a Junior Research Associate at the Institute’s Digital Earth Research Center (Identifying the Location of Oil Reserves Using Machine Learning with In-House Res-Neuro Software); and Dmitry Gnezdilov, a Junior Research Associate at the Institute’s Laboratory of Hydrate Technologies for Greenhouse Gas Utilization and Storage (Kinetic Polyurethane Hydrate Inhibitors Based on N-Substituted Amino Alcohols).
“Gas hydrate formation in oil and gas equipment remains a pressing issue, despite the availability of well-established technological solutions. The most common approach is to use thermodynamic inhibitors, primarily methanol. However, methanol is toxic and highly flammable, and large quantities are required for it to work effectively,” Gnezdilov explained. “We have developed kinetic inhibitors based on water-soluble polyurethane. Their key advantage is a substantially lower dosage: thermodynamic inhibitors require concentrations of 20–50% by weight, whereas kinetic inhibitors require only 0.1–2% by weight.”
According to the researcher, introducing a domestically developed kinetic inhibitor into the oil and gas industry will reduce methanol consumption and the associated operational and logistics costs.
“The main goal of the forum, of which the roundtable was a part, is to combine efforts to establish a common educational, scientific and technological space within the Union State, as well as to create an inter-university platform for Belarusian–Russian cooperation. During the meeting, participants identified priority areas of research that will help improve oil production efficiency and the remediation of contaminated soils,” said the event’s moderator, Pavel Krylov, Deputy Director for Research at the Institute of Geology and Petroleum Technologies.
He also named the Belarusian colleagues who joined the event remotely, “I would like to acknowledge the representatives of the Rechitsaneft Oil and Gas Production Department in Belarus who participated in the roundtable online: Alexander Kondratenko, Head of the Prospecting and Geological Exploration Department; Alexander Rossol, Head of the Reservoir Modeling and Well Interventions Group at the Integrated Operations Center; Pavel Retslav, a geologist in the Production and Field Development Support Group at the Integrated Operations Center; and Anastasia Nikitina, a geologist in the same group.”
Events of this kind help strengthen partnerships between universities and companies in the fuel and energy sector, the Institute’s Deputy Director for Research concluded.