Tatarstan State Award in Science and Technology in 2023 given for seismic research
Representatives of the Institute of Geology and Petroleum Technologies received the good news this week.
The winners from KFU are Senior Research Associate of the Laboratory of In-Situ Combustion Eduard Ziganshin and Junior Research Associate of the Laboratory of Utilization of Carbon Dioxide in Underground Reservoirs Airat Yarullin. The award was given for the development, creation and operation of a special purpose geodetic network with automation of complex data collection and processing using artificial intelligence.
Vice-Rector for Earth Sciences Danis Nurgaliev comments, “The system was set up many years ago in Tatneft, but the Institute employees have undertaken great work and gave it a second life. Geological and geophysical research was made, and a software kit was created to detect even the weakest earthquakes through sound monitoring. The system is now also used by Tatneft for enhanced oil recovery. Undoubtedly, this is one of the best seismic monitoring systems for oil recovery in the world right now.”
Dr Ziganshin explains, “The work is devoted to geodynamic monitoring in the territory of the south-east of Tatarstan in order to ensure industrial safety within the boundaries of oil-producing areas of the Republic of Tatarstan. In recent years, with the participation of KFU employees, unique results have been obtained on the geodynamic situation and seismicity of the territory where intensive development of oil and gas fields is carried out. A hierarchically organized and synchronized network of repeated leveling satellite and continuous seismological observations with data collection in the Data Processing Center has been built at this geodynamic polygon, covering all fields under development. Today this system is the most advanced not only in Russia, but also in the world. It is a pride for the republic and for the country as a whole. Another feature of the work is that the results of the system are used not only to assess the geodynamic situation in the region, but also to improve the efficiency of the Romashkinskoye field development. As part of this work, the seismic regime of the oil producing region was analyzed. The data makes it possible to identify zones of increased fracturing resulting from earthquakes, which are a natural source of rock crushing, providing additional oil inflow.”
Mr Yarullin adds, “Machine learning algorithms allowed to increase the safety of oil recovery regions by speeding up the detection of earthquakes.”
The co-awardees are Chief Surveyor of Tatneft Rustam Sakhautdinov, Deputy Chief Surveyor of Tatneft Damir Gilaev, Deputy Director for Applied Geodynamics and Monitoring of the Institute of Earth Physics (Russian Academy of Sciences) Yury Kuzmin, Lead Geologist of Tatneft Aziz Baratov, Head of the Tatarstan Geological Exploration Unit of Tatneft Ramil Gatiyatullin, and Mr Malik Rakhmatullin.
The award ceremony is scheduled for February 2024.
