Gazprom and Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade agree to cooperate in creating domestic subsea production systems
RELEASE
Release
Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Management Committee of Gazprom, and Denis Manturov, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, today signed at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2017 an agreement to cooperate in creating domestic subsea production systems.
The agreement envisages efforts aimed at developing the capacities of Russian engineering and shipbuilding companies in terms of producing import-substituting equipment and components for offshore development operations.
Pursuant to the document, the parties will prepare proposals with respect to developing design documentation and manufacturing prototypes for eleven key equipment groups of hydrocarbon subsea production systems (SPS). The Ministry of Industry and Trade is about to begin the bidding procedures for design and development activities in four priority areas, namely Manifolds, Wellhead Equipment, X-mas Trees, and SPS Control System. The first prototypes are expected to be presented in 2019.
It is also planned to address issues related to setting up a test center for comprehensive testing of new products and to examine the possibility of using domestic SPS equipment in Gazprom’s future projects on the continental shelf of Russia.
In addition, proposals will be drafted on state support measures for Russian companies that launch or localize the manufacturing of subsea production equipment.
Background
Gazprom is the only Russian company that employs subsea production technologies. Today, the Company uses a subsea production system to develop the Kirinskoye gas and condensate field in the Sea of Okhotsk (within the Sakhalin III project).
In June 2015, Gazprom and the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade signed the Import Substitution Program for industrial products needed by Gazprom, its subsidiaries and affiliates. The Program aims, inter alia, to strengthen the role of the Russian Government in supporting the domestic companies willing to participate in creating efficient and innovative technologies, equipment, materials, and software.