KFU and Peking University to expand links in geology and petroleum science
The Peking University delegation visited on 27th and 28th May.
Importantly, a week ago, President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin officially launched the China-Russia Mutual Years of Educational Cooperation in 2026 and 2027.
The Peking University group comprised Deputy Dean of the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences of Shen Bing, Professor Zhang Bo, and PhD student Yelizaveta Grigoryeva; they were joined by Professor of the China University of Mining and Technology Dai Shifeng.
They were greeted by Vice-Rector for Earth Sciences Danis Nurgaliev, Deputy Director for Research of the Institute of Geology and Petroleum Technologies (IGPT) Pavel Krylov, Deputy Director of Gazpom Neft-KFU Center Vladislav Sudakov, and International Cooperation Officer Yury Nurmeev. Dr Nurgaliev and Dr Shen presented their respective institutions.
The group then toured the institute’s labs and listened to employees explaining their current research.
Acting Director of IGPT Vladimir Silantyev commented, “We discussed some possible future research, in particular, in the coal industry. The idea is to bring about a more sustainable coal energy industry by intoducing innovative methods of coal burning waste recycling an extract rare Earth elements from it. Dai Shifeng is one of the leading scientists in the world in this area. Kazan University has conducted research that demonstrates the existence of subtle geochemical patterns that allow rare elements to concentrate in rocks close to coal deposits.”
A workshops with field trips to coal mines is planned for October 2026 in China.
“I told my colleagues from China about our ongoing work studying traditional and unconventional reservoir types, the sedimentology of oil and gas basins, and combining different methods (lithological and mineralogical) to obtain high-quality results,” said Anton Kolchugin, Chair of the Department of Mineralogy and Lithology.
Eduard Ziganshin, Acting Chair of the Department of Geophysics and Geo-information Technologies, presented the research being conducted by the staff of the Geomechanics Laboratory. Anna Kulikova, Senior Researcher at the Laboratory for Carbon Dioxide Utilization in Underground Natural Reservoirs, presented on their work in geothermochronology, tectonics, and petrology.
Ameen Al-Muntasser, Research Associate at the Laboratory for Generation, Storage, and Transportation of Hydrogen and Low-Carbon Energy Carriers, presented a joint project between KFU and Peking University aimed at developing the scientific foundations for in-situ hydrothermal upgrading and conversion of kerogen-containing shale rocks in a sub-/supercritical water–CO2 system.
“My primary interest is research in the oil and gas sector. Peking University, like yours, has a very strong research group engaged in such research. I believe we need to work together,” Shen Bing said at the end of the visit. “What impressed me most is how well-established the link between fundamental science and industry is at KFU. I think this experience should be adopted by universities in other countries. It will be very useful for everyone.”
He added that the institute’s research centers and laboratories they visited left a strong impression on him, as did the Kazan University History Museum.
“Kazan University has many young, active researchers who are producing excellent scientific results. I was amazed by their professionalism and excellent command of English,” Zhang Bo shared.
In 2024, KFU and Peking University signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at developing international cooperation in science and education.
“Peking University conducts a great deal of interesting research, some of which correlates with ours. We agreed to work together in areas related to the study of coal, geomechanics, environmental magnetism, geochemistry, track dating, and several others,” said D. Nurgaliev.
