Rector Lenar Safin meets with leadership of NOVATEK
The delegation included Vadim Yakovlev, First Deputy Chairman of the Management Board, and Vladimir Kudrin, Director for Geology, as well as representatives from LLC NOVATEK STC (Scientific and Technical Center), led by General Director Vladimir Soloviev.
As part of the visit, a meeting was held with the Rector. In addition to the university’s experts, the meeting was attended by experts from SIBUR, including Management Board Member and Executive Director Alexander Petrov, R&D and Innovation Director Sergey Tutov, and Eduard Timashev, Director of a division at SIBUR Holding.
The parties discussed issues regarding cooperation in the oil and gas sector.
Notably, NOVATEK is one of the largest private companies in natural gas production in Russia. It ranks third in the world for proven gas reserves. The NOVATEK Scientific and Technical Center is directly engaged in the research and development of technologies applied in oil production.
The Rector emphasized that the oil and gas industry is a priority at Kazan University. The university is a leader in this field not only in Russia but also in the world, ranking among the top 35 universities globally.
“To date, we have had a positive experience working effectively with the industrial oil and gas sector. Furthermore, strategic projects in this direction are being implemented within the framework of Priority-2030, where KFU has specifically set a course for technological leadership. Our key partners are Gazprom Neft and SIBUR. We are building a full technological chain with them, from idea to commercialization and industry application,” reported Lenar Safin.
Mikhail Varfolomeev, Director of the KFU Technology Park of Low-Tonnage Chemical Technologies, added that some developments, largely thanks to an interdisciplinary approach, have no analogues in Russia or globally. According to the expert, a number of these will be of interest to NOVATEK as well.
In particular, this concerns surfactants for enhancing oil and condensate recovery, products for removing ARPD (asphaltene-resin-paraffin deposits) and reducing oil viscosity, technologies for developing gas condensate fields, and hydrate storage and transportation of hydrocarbon gases, among many others.
Vadim Yakovlev proposed joining forces, describing the listed developments and the concept for their future implementation as a 100% match with the company’s sphere of interests.
Following the discussion, a decision was made to develop a comprehensive cooperation program, including an educational module for staff training, professional development, and retraining of NOVATEK personnel.
