OREANDA-NEWS. August 25, 2016. Gazprom Neft has secured a further 13 patents since the beginning of 2016 in respect of technological innovations in oil refining. The total number of innovations successfully patented by the company currently stands at 31, with a further 19 applications under review by Russian patent authority Rospatent.

The company has continued its implementation of a national project to further develop catalyst production at its Omsk Refinery throughout 2016, engaging in partnerships with major Russian scientific institutions — including the Institute for Problems of Hydrocarbon Refining (Omsk), the Boreskov Institute of Catalysis (Novosibirsk) and others — to undertake research and development activities as part of this project. This collaboration has already seen results in patents for technologies to produce effective catalysts of equal quality to international alternatives, and in supporting the production of Euro-5-standard fuels.

One of the patents obtained by the company protects innovative technology for the plasma-chemical decomposition of hydrogen sulphide into hydrogen fuel and sulphur which, in contrast to traditional Claus/SCOT process technology, allows capital and operational costs to be reduced by 67 and 34 percent respectively, as well as eliminating any emission of sulphur compounds, reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The company plans to implement this technology at production facilities at its Omsk Refinery in due course.

Gazprom Neft has also obtained six protective orders in respect of computer simulators modelling operations at existing technological facilities at its Omsk Refinery. These will be used at a scientific-technological testing facility unique to the refining industry, equipped with simulators replicating technological processes used in oil refining. One of the patented computer programmes will be used to model optimum gasoline production scheduling. Computer systems developed by Gazprom Neft in conjunction with Tomsk Polytechnic University will also allow training programmes for production operatives to be optimised, as well as facilitating the re-training and continued professional development of personnel throughout the company’s refining assets. They will also allow the modelling of technological processes in use at various facilities with a view to improving the operational efficiency of industrial complexes and the use of raw materials throughout the company’s refineries.

Gazprom Neft intends to submit an international application in respect of its proprietary technologies in 2016, as well as patent applications in several European countries and the United States.

Anatoly Cherner, Deputy CEO for Logistics, Refining and Sales, Gazprom Neft, commented: “Developing technologies and implementing innovations are priority areas of activity for the company, and the focus of its long-term strategy. In establishing our own proprietary research and development resources, and in stimulating the development of intellectual potential, we are developing a strong foundation for the competitiveness of the company’s refining assets. Those technologies and innovations patented by Gazprom Neft are destined to ensure the company’s strategic objectives are achieved, and Russian oil refining’s dependence on imported products and technologies reduced, in the future.”