Rustam Minnikhanov holds round table with oil producers and scientists

A round table discussing implementing innovative oil recovery technologies at JSC Tatneft and smaller oil companies’ fields has today taken place at the Tatarstan Academy Sciences.

Attendees were Tatneft general director Shafagat Takhautdinov, his deputies, Academy of Sciences president Akhmet Mazgarov, representatives from smaller oil companies and Tatarstan research and implementation organisations.

Before the meeting, the participants viewed a display of Tatarstan projects. The Tatneft exhibition gave a picture of the innovative company’s scale.

“From what we saw at the exhibition, we can say that science has become strongly involved in solving oil producers’ problems,” R. Minnikhanov said opening the meeting. “There are real projects. Their successful implementation in Tatarstan as the oldest oil region will enable them to be used in other regions. On our part, we are ready to help and promote these ideas.”

Tatneft chief geologist Rais Khisamov delivered a report on implementing innovative technologies of field development stabilisation and business areas for 2012.

Tatneft has set a difficult task to stabilise oil recovery, which requires complex technologies. Ideas to bring their cost down are needed, the geologist said. In part, he named horizontal drilling with hydraulic fracturing, sidetracking, natural bitumen field development and ways to recover idle wells.

Tatneft chief engineer Nail Ibragimov spoke about innovative technical solutions aimed to enhance oil production. He mentioned areas of potential application of Tatarstan science. In part, he named the mean time before failure, increasing poor wells’ yield, reliability of pipelines for heavy crude and energy efficiency.

Summing up the discussion, R. Minnikhanov said: “Without science we cannot be competitive and in some areas we are at the front”. He suggested inviting third-party scientists to take part in such round tables.