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January 2010

Vol. 15, No. 2 Week of January 10, 2010

Our Arctic Neighbors: Russian president hears from Gazprom

CEO of energy giant tells Dmitri Medvedev company’s technology is innovative, especially on Yamal Peninsula in Arctic

Sarah Hurst

For Petroleum News

Reporting to Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller was effusive about the state-owned company’s technological successes. In his speech to the presidential commission for modernization and technological development of Russia’s economy, Miller drew particular attention to Gazprom’s projects on the Yamal Peninsula, the company said in a release Dec. 25.

“A vivid example of innovative approaches and unique technologies and equipment application is Gazprom’s activities on Yamal, where a totally new giant gas production center for Russia is being constructed and equipped according to the latest achievements in science and technology,” Miller said. “As part of the Yamal project innovative developments are being applied across the entire gas chain — from upstream to downstream,” he said.

“In particular, to secure delivery of Yamal gas into the Unified Gas Supply System of Russia, the construction of the new-generation Bovanenkovskoe-Ukhta gas transmission is under way,” Miller said. “This system, unparalleled in the world, is really a frontier gas project. To construct the system we are utilizing unique second-to-none pipes of domestic origin that were manufactured to Gazprom’s specifications. The pipes can resist pressure of up to 120 ata (atmospheres absolute) and can be operated in the harsh natural and climatic conditions of the far north.”

Longest bridge above Arctic Circle

Another of Gazprom’s achievements in Yamal was the construction of the bridge crossing for the Obskaya-Bovanenkovo railroad, Miller noted. “This is the world’s longest bridge located above the Arctic Circle and has no analogues in bridge-building practice for the specifics of its structure or the conditions of its construction and operation,” he said. “The bridge was installed over a very short period of time in the severe climate on the permafrost and marshlands.”

Gazprom is innovative in the way it ensures the safe and efficient operation of the company’s existing facilities, according to Miller. “A focus is placed on advanced methods of diagnostics and forecasting of technical conditions,” he said. “Pursuant to Gazprom’s order, pipeline diagnostic pigs and external automated scanners have been developed and are applied. Remotely controlled diagnostic tools are installed at compressor stations. These hi-tech items of equipment help us to determine the size of a defect in the most exact and prompt way, thus making a considerable contribution in enhancing the reliability of our gas transmission system.”

The company has also developed and applied nanotechnologies for water purification and decontamination at the molecular level as part of its clean water environmental program, Miller said. Innovative technology for treating the gas pumping units’ exhaust gases reduces their nitrogen oxide content as well as treatment costs, he said.






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