In his opening speech, Andrey Antonov, Deputy Governor of the Tomsk Region for economy, noted that the objective to advance technology for hard-to-recover hydrocarbon reserves development was set forth by the Government of Russia; achieving this will create favorable conditions for investment and a range of new technological solutions. The cluster will become the grounds for the development of a new technology platform to operate hard-to-recover oil reserves taking into account the geologic features of currently operating oilfields and formations.
“Our strategic partner Gazpromneft is interested in the establishment of this cluster”, - Mr. Antonov noted. – The company plans to increase the proportion of hard-to-recover reserves in their total volume of produced oil”.
Andrey Antonov proposed that the participants should identify the directions for HTR research, Tomsk subsoil users should make plans to fund the research of HTR formations at their license plots and identify objectives for universities and scientific organizations that can be achieved in the form of contractual relations.
As a result of the meeting, the pilot project for the HTR cluster was selected to be “the Paleozoic”, which had been launched by Gazpromneft. It aims to develop the technology for exploration of promising pay zones in the pre-Jurassic sequence of the Tomsk Region. According to Vladislav Zhukov, Head of Project Management Office for Unconventional Reserves at Gazpromneft NTC, the Tomsk Region is the “foothold” for this project. According to company’s estimates, the deposits of pre-Jurassic sequence in the region consist mainly of oil-bearing sediments, while the potential for exploration and development of oil is estimated to be around 90-95%.
“The company has as its primary objective a 3D physical and mathematical modeling of all reservoirs by the end of 2017 to outline the technological requirements for the development of specific hard-to-recover oil reserves”, - Mr. Zhukov said.
He also noted that it is the cluster-based approach and the interaction with scientific organizations and universities that allow for maximum efficiency in the reaching of the set objectives.
According to Anatoliy Verin, Chief Geologist and Deputy General Director of Gazpromneft-Vostok, taking into account the current economic situation, the key competitive advantage of companies that aim to develop HTR reserves is the availability of relevant technology, knowledge and competence. This can be achieved by interacting with scientific and education organizations, industrial and technology companies. Mr. Verin thinks that “the Paleozoic” project will lead to the development and strengthening of the industrial sector of the Tomsk Region.
Finalizing the working session, Andrey Antonov noted that the selected cluster-based approach to the development of priority industries of the region is supported at the federal level and allows for the completion of cross-sectoral objectives. The proof of this is the support of regional clusters by federal ministries.