Submit proposal for new technologies

Technological Strategy
SUBMIT PROPOSAL FOR NEW TECHNOLOGIES

Submit proposal for new technologies

Gazprom Neft’s Science and Technology Center seeks to promote an innovation circle around it with intent to culture new ideas and approaches to the Company’s technological development. We are willing to review all the promising proposals received from potential developers concerning the application and improvement of technological solutions in geological exploration, field development, oil production and other business areas of Gazprom Neft’s Science and Technology Center.

Gazprom Neft’s projects aimed at improving efficiency of oil and gas production, development of new reserves and fulfillment of the Company’s strategic plans were assembled into a single conceptual document known as the Technology Strategy.

A list of the Company’s focal areas is provided below. If you have any proposals concerning these focal areas, you can submit your application. A subject matter expert of Gazprom Neft’s Science and Technology Center will contact you as soon as we have reviewed your application.

New hydraulic fracturing technologies

Technologies for development of under-gas-cap deposits, onshore and Arctic offshore deposits

Enhanced oil recovery techniques

Technologies for low-permeability reserves development

Energy efficiency enhancement technologies

Technologies for carbonate reservoir development

Technologies for unconventional reserves development

High-resolution geological exploration technologies

Digitalization of industrial processes

High-tech well construction technologies

Immovable oil detection technologies

Integrated engineering

New materials

REQUEST FOR THE “DRILLING AND WELLWORK” ACTIVITY

1. Development of economically efficient materials with advanced resistance to corrosion for high (6 to 30%) H2S content environment and sour (up to5%) service. Purpose: well construction and well equipment, infrastructure, transportation and construction.

2. Drilling pipes and casing pipes, and tubing based on composite non-metallic materials for lighter final products while maintaining / improving the strength and anti-corrosive properties and maintaining / decreasing the total price of ownership of the products.

3. Drilling pipes and casing pipes, tubing based on alternative materials, alloys and composite compounds for lighter final products while maintaining / improving the strength and corrosion-resisting properties and maintaining / decreasing the total price of ownership of the products.

4. Non-magnetic alloys and composite compounds. Wear-resistant materials. Materials with transient behavior. Bimetals. High entropy alloys of H2S-resistant steel. Materials that feature unique characteristics while maintaining the strength characteristics inherent to conventional analogs.

5. Super-hard and ultra crack-resistant materials with advanced operating characteristics and economic efficiency of manufacturing.

6. Material that would satisfy the strength requirements for the manufacturing of hollow slip design, i.e., - a side-tracking element.

7. Materials with special surface morphology for the advanced adhesive properties of casing and cement stone in borehole conditions.

8. Material welding / joining technologies that don’t deteriorate physical-and- mechanical characteristics of the joint and that ensure safe welding operations on a well.

9. Development of a material for the completion of the horizontal section of a well that will operate as a filter and change its geometry while filling the space of the open hole and taking its shape.

Should be able to run in a well in a compressed form to pass the borehole.
Once activated, the material should expand and completely fill the borehole annulus to ensure long-term and efficient control of sand show.
Changing the form at glass transition temperature; the activating agent should temporarily bring the material below the BHT; the shape memory material takes the shape of the borehole.
The higher the temperature, the faster the expansion will be; the higher the concentration of the activating agent, the faster the expansion will be.
Properties of completion fluid: base fluid type: water, brine, solution, brakerite etc.; brine type: monovalent (faster expansion) / bivalent salt. Base fluid viscosity. Base fluid density.
Composition of the activating fluid: The activating fluid is added to a completion fluid (e.g., brine, mud or breaker).
Polymer activation at 17 degrees BHT.
Activation fluid “current braker system” or compatible with braker system. Activation fluid may not form additional skin on the reservoir as a result of chemical reactions.
Any porosity and permeability may be pre-defined (to be specified according to the results of core grading test).
Installation on base pipe with a 127 mm filter element and activation in an 155.6 - 175 mm open hole. The polymer may be secured to base pipe in field conditions.
The polymer structure should bear a load of up to 20 MPa in a diameter up to 175 mm.
The polymer shall be resistant to up to 15% HCl treatment.
During installation on the filter, the outer diameter of the polymer shall not exceed 146 mm.
A reliable system to secure the polymer on base pipe (i.e., up to 1 ton axial load and up to 10 kN*m torque capacity).
Polymer to have throughput capacity for up to 150 cPs current physical and chemical properties of oil.
The polymer shall be resistant (remain intact) as the string passes through the intensive slide down section.

10. Cement systems for well activity, such systems having self-healing properties in case of cracking.

Requirements:
Bridges micro gaps and cracks in cement stone, and other ways for the cross-flows of hydrocarbon or reservoir fluid;
Increases service life of a well;
Heals itself and protects against the loss of waterproofing in the annulus;
Reduces squeeze job costs and loss of profit due to suspended production;
Reduces well monitoring costs;
Can be mixed and pumped by standard cementing equipment;
Cement sheath self-restores without the need of intervention;
Prevents unwanted migration of hydrocarbons or reservoir fluid towards wellhead equipment and onto the surface;
The compound remains at rest in the cement sheath matrix and reacts only when in contact with hydrocarbons or reservoir fluid;
Prevents potential footprint on natural environment.

REQUEST FOR THE “GEOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT” ACTIVITY

1. An explosive exceeding the power of TNT equivalent while featuring the transportation and application parameters no lower than those of TNT.

2. Isolating agent for core sampling with the following characteristics:

Doesn’t penetrate in rock pore space;
Doesn’t interact with the rock (either with non-organic, or organic matrix);
Doesn’t interact with rock-saturating fluids;
Its density should be lower than that of the drilling mud (DM);
May be identified by primitive / available means on a well;
Doesn’t prevent fluids from leaving the core on temperature drop but it envelopes the core during lifting to the surface and doesn’t let in the fluids from outside;
Changes its color depending on the fluid displaced from core, during core lifting and when the fluids exit it which were initially in the rock;
Doesn’t change its properties in any of the P/T ranges (See Corporate dbase for statistics);
(Optional) On electrical discharge or acoustic signal (or on another external impact), can change its properties, e.g., fill the entire space between core sampler and the core, and can serve as a shock-absorber during transportation.

3. Development of a substance having the following properties:

Penetrates in the rock pore space;
Doesn’t interact with the rock (either with non-organic, or organic matrix);
Has physical properties similar to H2O, i.e., — viscosity, density and ability to penetrate in rock pore space;
Doesn’t change its properties in the pressure / temperature ranges featured by Company-owned assets (See Corporate dbase for statistics);

4. Casing material with no heating of poorly consolidated core and ensuring tight contact with the sample to rule out gas / fluid blow-by;

5. Substance for preservation of samples without the necessity to heat up, i.e., - a substitute for paraffin, a substance having the following properties:

Doesn’t penetrate in rock pore space;
Doesn’t interact with the rock (either with non-organic, or organic matrix);
Doesn’t interact with rock-saturating fluids;
Prevents fluids from exiting or penetrating from core;
Requires no heat up for melting before being placed on a rock sample;
Doesn’t change its properties within the range from −35 ⁰С to + 45 ⁰С;
Cannot be damaged by physical impacts during transportation;

6. Development of a new type of core sampler as a complex modular system.

Industrial solutions are necessary for the material of sampler container with the following properties:
Opportunity to create cylinders with the range of internal volumes from 300 to 1000 ml provided that the outer diameter of the cylinder is 30 to 50 mm (priority shall be given to those having the thinnest wall, and respectively, the largest internal volume);
Able to bear the temperature of up to 200 ◦С;
Able to bear the pressure and delta P between the atmospheric and internal pressure of the cylinder up to 100 MPa;
Option to screw the ends of the cylinder;
Opportunity to process the internal surface to a quality where the internal piston of the cylinder (i.e., the piston with sealing and guide rings):
a. Remains tight under up to 100 MPa where pressures on both the sides of the piston are equal;
b. Remains tight at 100 MPa delta P (as the piston is pressed against the closing ring wound on one of the cylinder ends);
Can comply with conditions 1-5 in corrosive environment (e.g., H2S, CO2 in the presence of water).

Also, the issues of the applied seals should be addressed. Approximate analysis demonstrates that ca. 50% of poor-quality samples result from the poor condition of the applied seals. Rubber is torn due to saturation with volatile fluids under high temperatures and high delta P. We need to find / develop materials for seals so that the price of one seal would not exceed RUR 1,000.

REQUEST FOR THE “PRODUCTION AND INFRASTRUCTURE” ACTIVITY

1. Development of domestic grades of steel for the production of flexible tubing (Coiled Tubing) adapted to operational conditions.

2. Materials soluble in reservoir conditions (or under pre-defined conditions), whose properties would be appropriate for the manufacturing of balls and collars for multifrac assembly.

3. Proppant granules with max. 1.5 g/cm3 density should be able to stand compression loads of 35 MPa and higher.

4. Material of the granules / filaments / fibers is soluble in reservoir conditions.

5. High-porosity coating for conventional proppant soluble in reservoir conditions.

6. Hardening coating for conventional sands and alumosilicates.

7. Material for seal section: shall be elastic and bear cyclic compressive and tensile stress at bending; it may not crack and shall be wear resistant, and probably have self-healing properties.

8. Insulation materials that can stand over 4000V and have high index of plasticity and insulation, gas-tightness and thermal elasticity, integrity and small size under more than 100 MPa.

9. Improved strength properties of cable armor material for submersible equipment while maintaining small size.

10. Material soluble in reservoir conditions which initially (i.e., before being dissolved) maintains its structural functions and machinability comparable to steels.

11. Design and development of the design of chemical substances for fracturing agents based on polymer surfactants and water-based gels, polymer-free and combined (surfactant + polymer) agents to control costs (as compared to guar-based fluids); should ensure high retained conductivity and thermal stability - for fresh / conventional water sources.

12. Design and development of the composition of chemical substances for fracturing agents based on polymer surfactants and water-based gels, polymer-free and combined (surfactant + polymer) agents to control costs (as compared to guar-based fluids); should ensure high retained conductivity and thermal stability and resistance to saline water (low sensitivity to water composition) - for non-fresh water sources.

13. Material / coating to decrease dry friction coefficient of actuated parts of items.

14. Oleophilic coatings / structures to keep a lubricant under conditions of its deficiency.

15. Material / coatings that are resistant to scale buildup in borehole conditions and that have good thermal conductivity properties to transfer heat.

16. Materials with better electric conductivity or technologies that may improve the electric conductivity of conventional materials.

17. A material that has high index of plasticity and gas-tightness, thermal elasticity, integrity and small size under more than 100 MPa.

18. Magnetically hard materials (alternative of SmCo - Samarium-Cobalt).

19. Magnetically soft materials (alternative of Somaloy).

20. Development of a solution for the manufacturing of process tanks which should be made of composite materials: separators, vertical steel tanks, oil treatment tanks, metering vessels. Requirements to the material and product:

High (4-10 MPa) pressure containment; corrosive resistance;
Up to 6% H2S resistance;
Operating temperature, max. +100 C;
Operating temperature, min. -50 C; no penetration / diffusion of free gas (e.g., methane, propane) is allowed; neutral to oil emulsions;
Resistant to weak acids: up to 10% hydrogen chloride and up to 10% hydrofluoric acid for a short period of up to 30 minutes;
Tankage: 1.5 to 200 m3.
Ensure required functionality similar to conventional items / infrastructure elements.

21. Meters / sensors to measure and identify the presence and concentration of inhibitors (e.g., scale buildup etc.) along product transportation on linear segments of pipelines and oil treatment plants.

22. Materials received by way of plasma-chemical synthesis of silicate melt and carbon structures (based on hydrocarbon gas) - a range of produced materials and technology for the designing of final synthetic product.

23. High-efficiency catalysts for associated / natural gas-to-liquids (GTL) process. Total useful utilization (conversion to final product) of associated petroleum gas shall be no less than 95%. The GTL stage shall allow the usage of a broad range of raw hydrocarbons including associated petroleum gas regardless its composition.

24. Create radiolabeled proppant (i.e., - specialized coating of, or additives to, the proppant) to allow one diagnose the fixed geometric parameters (i.e., - width, length and height) of a fracture using conventional geophysical methods.

REQUEST FOR THE “MAJOR CONSTRUCTION” ACTIVITY

1. Development of new nano-structured grades of tubing featuring high anticorrosive properties and optimized for defined operating conditions to assure economic efficiency.

2. Development of technologies for applying functional coating on the internal surfaces used during production, treatment / processing and transportation of oil and gas.

3. Development of economically feasible functional coatings for metal structures with improved operating characteristics.

4. Development of new high-strength nano-structured construction materials optimized for defined operating conditions.

5. Development of economically efficient materials featured by high strength and frost resistance to use them under extreme conditions of the Arctic region.

6. Composite non-metallic materials resistant to corrosive environments and high temperatures, featuring a broad range of operating temperatures and defined level of fire resistance.

7. Low thermal conductivity material with minor shrinkage; frost-resistant and economically feasible, and allowing smaller fill thickness when constructing roads on permafrost.

8. Materials and chemistry for stronger road surface dressing, i.e., - to prevent washaway and erosion of roads.

9. Micro containers encapsulated by (various types of) corrosion inhibitors that can be opened by external impacts and can embed into commercially available “classical” coatings / dyes:

Mitigation of the negative effect caused by inhibitors on the coating matrix;
Protection of inhibitors against active components of the coating matrix;
Protection of inhibitors against early activation and leaks;
Inhibitors are released only where there is immediate threat of corrosion;

10. Multi-functional coatings based on polymer-based fluorated powder compounds (powder paint) with pre-defined properties:

Partial, and in some cases full, prevention of surface icing;
Resistance to biofouling (i.e., - bacteria and algae that may “stick” to the surface);
Mud resistance (low surface energy of the coating);
Significant reduction in skin friction (the effect of a dry lubricant on the surface of coating);
Highly efficient anticorrosive protection (the coating is impermeable for water or water-based brines).