Gazprom continuing active implementation of innovative domestic solutions at its production facilities

In the Republic of Tatarstan, an off-site meeting focused on the implementation of innovations took place under the leadership of Oleg Aksyutin, Deputy Chairman of the Management Committee – Head of Department at Gazprom.

The Company develops new technologies on its own and is also a major customer for cutting-edge domestic equipment. For many years, Gazprom has been in close cooperation with domestic research and manufacturing companies with regard to the entire cycle of creation and implementation of innovative products, thus driving the accelerated development of industrial potential across Russian regions.

For instance, three single-line gas metering stations equipped with ultrasonic natural gas flow transducers were put into operation at the gas transmission facilities of Gazprom Transgaz Kazan in November this year. This upgraded innovative type of gas metering stations has already been introduced into batch production and brought its developers the top award of Gazprom's Science and Technology Prize 2022. An ultrasonic metering complex of a large diameter (up to 1,400 mm) to be installed directly on gas trunklines has been developed and implemented under the project jointly with Scientific Production Association Vympel.

The stations of the new type comply with the required class of accuracy for the measurements of volumes and other physical and chemical properties of gas. The measurement data obtained help control gas flows and manage them even more effectively within the entire gas supply system.

In addition, owing to their reduced metal consumption and thus lower operational and construction costs, the new gas metering stations compare favorably with traditional ones which have a multiple-line structure. Another advantage of the new stations is their lightly-manned technologies: the operation of the stations is fully automated and does not require permanent presence of personnel.

Within the next few years, Gazprom is going to put the innovative single-line gas metering stations into operation at other facilities of Gazprom Transgaz Kazan, as well as at Gazprom Transgaz Nizhny Novgorod and Gazprom Transgaz Tchaikovsky.

The Company pays special attention to cutting-edge developments offered for gas compressor equipment. United Engine Corporation (UEC, part of the Rostec State Corporation) is developing the AL-41ST-25 gas turbine engine with a capacity of 25 MW for the benefit of Gazprom. The engine complies with the latest requirements in terms of its fuel efficiency, long time between overhauls and high environmental sustainability. A distinctive feature of the engine is a unified gas generator which makes it possible to create a range of 25–42 MW drive engines. The equipment of this capacity will be required in Gazprom's future projects.

In late November 2022, an agreement was signed for the supply of two new AL-41ST-25 gas turbine engines. The installation of the engine prototype in a gas compressor unit and the start of pilot tests at a compressor station of Gazprom are slated for December 2023.