Laboratory of Petrophysics and Oil Reservoir Physics opened with support from Rosneft

The event took place on 11 November.

The grand opening of the laboratory was hosted by Danis Nurgaliev, Vice-Rector for Earth Sciences. Also present were Ildus Chukmarov, Deputy Director for Marketing – Director of the Center for Advanced Training (CdoGEO), and Andrey Teryokhin, Deputy Director for Academic Affairs.

The laboratory was created with the support of the leading company of the oil and gas industry in Russia, PJSC Rosneft. As Danis Nurgaliev emphasized, Rosneft is a longstanding partner of KFU. For example, Rosneft employs a large number of students and graduates of our Institute.

The partnership between Rosneft and KFU reached a new level after signing a cooperation agreement in 2018.

The first significant result of the cooperation was the development and implementation of a unique master’s program in Petroleum Engineering, which was developed jointly with the company’s specialists.

KFU participates in Rosneft Classes educational project. This project helps schoolchildren from 7th to 11th grade to prepare for higher education and future work in the oil industry. The project has been running for two years, combining the efforts of school teachers, Rosneft HR services and specialized universities, including KFU. Thanks to this, more than 60% of Rosneft Classes graduates choose specialties in demand at Rosneft enterprises and decide on their future profession. Kazan Federal University is one of Rosneft’s key partners in organizing Rosneft Classes.

The University was one of the co-organizers of a series of online competitions for students studying IT specialties – Hackathon of the country’s universities, which was organized by Rosneft-BashNIPIneft.

Cooperation in staff training is also growing rapidly. CdoGEO has trained 1,827 managers and specialists of Rosneft from 110 departments of the company from 2017 to 2024.

The interdisciplinary training laboratory of Petrophysics and Oil Reservoir Physics is aimed at students of natural science specialties at all levels of education. In the course of their studies, students get acquainted with the technological chain of work with primary geological material (core), starting with the process of core preparation, flow studies, selection and production of standard samples, and planning of the core study program. Modern equipment for standard and special research methods is available in the new laboratory. Up to 30 students can be practicing here at the same time.

Modern software makes it possible to conduct training in an online format. The virtual laboratory, designed for 10 seats, allows to hone skills in performing most routine types of research before performing them on real installations.

Undergraduate, graduate and PhD students can use the equipment when studying specimen collections as part of their preparation for dissertations or other written theses.

“The main goal of universities is to train qualified specialists,” said Danis Nurgaliev. “In this lab, teachers will teach students (our future colleagues) the basic concepts of petrophysical and filtration-capacitance properties of rocks and modern methods of their study. Thus, the laboratory will become the basis for obtaining basic knowledge and competencies of future employees of the oil and gas industry of our country, and first of all, of Rosneft.”

1st year graduate student Zakhretdin Shakhrettdinov shared his experience of working in a scientific laboratory. He emphasized that it is a great opportunity for students to study in depth and understand the essence of various processes. “When I was doing science, my task was to determine elastic properties on a single horizon,” Zakhretdin said. “I realized then how important it is to work in a laboratory to gain practical experience.”

Now he is continuing his work, which includes determining the elastic properties of the samples. “Based on this data, we will be able to determine the conditions in the reservoir,” Zakhretdin explained, “and to model and understand the processes we will initiate in the subsurface.”

“It should be noted that IGPT successfully forms branded zones and, together with industrial partners, creates modern laboratories and equipped classrooms for students and teachers. The largest such zone here is the Rosneft zone. And this year we also opened this interdisciplinary training laboratory with Rosneft. It should be noted that IGPT successfully cooperates with Rosneft in all areas. Every year more than 600 managers and specialists of Rosneft undergo advanced training at CdoGEO. On October 10, 2024, KFU and Rosneft signed a new cooperation agreement for 5 years. We hope to expand our cooperation,“ concluded Ildus Chukmarov.