Gazprom Neft : to develop enhanced oil recovery techniques together with SNF

Gazprom Neft to develop enhanced oil recovery techniques together with SNF

19 January 2021

Partnership

Gazprom Neft Technology Partnerships (previously known as the Bazhenov Technology Centre) and French holding company SNF, together with its Russian subsidiary SNF Vostok, have signed a Cooperation Agreement on developing, testing and launching chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technologies on the Russian market.

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The parties have agreed to collaborate in producing and supplying polymers for Gazprom Neft projects involving the use of chemical enhanced oil recovery (CEOR) techniques. Chemical flooding is a widely used method for enhancing oil recovery, delivering additional production volumes (in the order of 15-20%) at mature fields. This technology has long been successfully used both within Russia and abroad, including at Gazprom Neft license blocks in the Khanty-Mansi and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrugs.

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The wider application of CEOR in Russia is currently limited by the high cost of internationally produced polymers, and the lack of any domestically produced alternatives. This Memorandum will facilitate the development of a domestic market for polymers, which will be in considerable demand in undertaking CEOR projects.

Other areas for cooperation between Gazprom Neft and leading European polymer producers include collaboration in the engineering and production of equipment for flooding technologies.

'EOR technologies are necessary both in developing hard-to-recover reserves, and in increasing production at mature fields. Testing at our assets has shown that using this methodology increases the oil recovery factor (ORF) by practically the maximum possible 70% - twice the industry average. According to our calculations, a further 450 million tonnes of oil could be produced in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug alone. Developing CEOR methodologies is one of the key technological tasks facing Gazprom Neft, which we will be addressing together with our partners.'

Alexey VashkevichDirector for Technological Development, Gazprom Neft

'SNF is implementing projects involving EOR technologies throughout the entire world. We are looking forward to particular success in Russia, through this partnership. In response to the enormous potential for polymer flooding technologies in Russia, four years ago we took the decision to build a polyacrylamide plant in Saratov. We are delighted to be collaborating with Gazprom Neft and, of course, look forward to both sharing our experience and, subsequently, supplying the necessary polymers and equipment.'

Pascal RemyPresident, SNF

Notes for editors

* Chemical enhanced oil recovery (CEOR) refers to technologies that increase the oil recovery factor (ORF, a metric indicating what proportion of total reserves are produced from strata) through the use of various kinds of chemical flooding.

Gazpromneft-Technology Partnerships LLC (previously known as the 'Bazhenov Technology Centre') is a subsidiary of Gazprom Neft, and the operator on the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation's national project on developing technologies and high-tech equipment for the viable development of Bazhenov Formation reserves. Gazpromneft-Technology Partnerships is Gazprom Neft's knowledge hub and management centre for the company's key areas for strategic development, including 'Hard-to-recover (non-traditional) reserves', 'CEOR', and the Achimovsky Formation. The business is also responsible for managing the marketing and monetisation of Gazprom Neft's upstream technology products.

SNF is one of the largest producers of water-soluble polymers used in the oil, gas and numerous other industries. The group's products enjoy a 48% market share. SNF has 22 plants in operation, as well as two forthcoming production sites, and 70 sales offices throughout 130 countries worldwide. SNF achieved turnover of more than EUR3.5 billion in 2019. SNF's products are used by more than 400,000 end-users throughout the world. The company's product range includes about 1,000 branded items. Innovation is a key factor behind the company's growth: ongoing investment in research and development resulting in about 100 new products being listed every year. SNF is committed to improving the environmental-friendliness of its products, and to improving its production processes, with all of the group's plants having been built in compliance with the highest safety and environmental standards.

SNF Vostok is a subsidiary of France's SNF group, supplying a full range of polyacrylamide products developed and produced at the group's factories throughout Russia and the CIS.

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Alexei Vashkevich