The Gazprom Neft Omsk Refinery has produced its first pilot batch of needle coke — an item not currently produced in Russia. The programme behind the development of this new product was facilitated by Gazprom Neft together with specialists from the Ufimsky State Oil Technical University.

Needle coke is an expensive and highly structured carbon product with a low metal and sulphur content, used in the manufacture of graphite electrodes. Its properties make needle coke appropriate for use in the production of electrodes requiring low electrical resistance and low coefficient for thermal expansion. It is used in the metallurgy, nuclear, chemical and space industries. The production of these electrodes was previously possible only through the use of imported raw materials.

Anatoly Cherner, Gazprom Neft Deputy CEO for Logistics, Processing and Sales, commented: “We are committed to pursuing the industrial production of needle coke by means of domestic technology. In the long term, commercial production of needle coke at the Omsk Refinery will reduce the dependence of Russian producers of carbon-graphite products on foreign suppliers, which will, in turn, will impact production costs for various strategic industrial sectors and improve their competitiveness.”

About Gazprom Neft

Gazprom Neft is a vertically integrated oil company primarily engaged in oil & gas exploration and production (E&P), the sale and distribution of crude oil, and the production and sale of petroleum products.

The company’s proven SPE (PRMS) hydrocarbon reserves exceed 1.2 billion tonnes of oil equivalent (toe), placing it among the world’s 20 largest oil companies.

The company operates in many of Russia’s prominent oil and gas regions including Khanty-Mansiysk (Yugra), Omsk, Orenburg, Tomsk, and Yamalo-Nenets. Gazprom Neft’s major refining facilities are located in Moscow, Omsk, and Yaroslavl, and it also has refineries in Serbia. Apart from its upstream activities in Russia, the company is involved in international E&P, including projects in Iraq and Venezuela.

See the site of the Gazprom Neft Omsk Refinery