Gazprom Neft PJSC and Wintershall Holding GmbH signed a cooperation agreement for conducting research into enhanced oil recovery, aimed at maintaining or increasing the oil production from mature fields. The companies agreed to launch a joint research and development project that will deploy chemical flooding technology in conjunction with surfactant and polymer solutions, and which will also include the preparation of a related technical feasibility study – a process expected to take several years.

During this period a joint technical working group will conduct laboratory testing, reservoir modeling and field investigations in order to identify the most suitable combination of surfactant agents and polymers for deployment in Gazprom Neft’s oil fields. If this is successful, the next stage is likely to involve pilot testing.

Vadim Yakovlev, First Deputy General Director of Gazprom Neft commented: “Improving the efficiency of the hydrocarbon production is one of the key priorities for Gazprom Neft’s development. The current stage aims at developing an optimal chemical formula and proving its efficiency during laboratory and field tests. These results will allow our companies to determine the applicability of this technology in mature fields. The continuous development of our expertise will ensure that Gazprom Neft can maintain its technological leadership in the Russian oil and gas industry.”

“Together with our parent company BASF, we have been focusing our technology program on the development of chemical EOR capabilities,” said Martin Bachmann, the Wintershall Executive Board member responsible for exploration and production in Europe and Middle East. “We are pleased to bring this expertise to this joint project.

About the technology:
Similar to dishwashing detergents, surfactant agents “flush out” oil from rocks and enable it to mix with water. Polymer solutions help to “thicken” the water and push the “flushed” oil towards the production wells.

About Wintershall

Wintershall Holding GmbH, based in Kassel, Germany, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BASF in Ludwigshafen. The company has been active in the extraction of natural resources for 120 years, and in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas for over 80 years. Wintershall focuses on selected core regions where the company has built up a high level of regional and technological expertise. These are Europe, Russia, North Africa, South America, and increasingly the Middle East region. The company wants to expand its business further with exploration and production, selected partnerships, innovation and technological competence. Wintershall employs about 2.000 staff worldwide from 50 nations and is now Germany’s largest, internationally active crude oil and natural gas producer.

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.