Russian Co bets big on Indian market

Kolkata: Buoyant over the prospects of oil and gas sector in India, Gazprom Neft, an arm of Russia's State-run Gazprom, the third largest oil producer in Russia and ranked third according to refining throughput, has now teamed up with Zyfra, the $50 million Finnish-Russian industrial digitalization firm. The new JV christened as Digital Industrial Platform and headquartered in St. Petersburg, Russia, aims at developing a digital industrial platform and promoting new technological solutions for the oil and gas industry, with particular focus on the Indian market. The new company's digital products will be aimed at centralizing operational management and creating digital twins through the use of artificial intelligence technologies.

"The new company will combine the best technological competencies of Gazprom Neft and Zyfra, which will allow it to occupy its own niche in the market and offer the best digital solutions to improve the efficiency of Gazprom Neft's business. The creation of a joint venture with Zyfra is a logical step in our long-standing cooperation," said Andrey Belevtsev, director of Digital Transformation at Gazprom Neft, in a written response. The JV envisages the launch of a digital production management platform in 2021 designed for oil and gas companies, he added.

The technological base for the JV will be the Zyfra Industrial Internet of Things Platform (ZIIoT), digital services for oil refining developed by the Zyfra, as well as Gazprom Neft's developments relating to process control in the oil and gas industry. The Zyfra IIoT Platform addresses the issue of integrating physical equipment with the products operating on production sites.

Gazprom Neft's experts will provide industry expertise and access to big data and production sites for the practical evaluation of technological developments. Zyfra will ensure the promotion of the JV's products on foreign markets, mainly in the countries of South Asia and Latin America, where the company is already working intensively.

"The new company will combine the best technological competencies of Gazprom Neft and Zyfra, which will allow it to occupy its own niche in the market and offer the best digital solutions to improve the efficiency of Gazprom Neft's business. The creation of a joint venture with Zyfra is a logical step in our long-standing cooperation," said Andrey Belevtsev, Director of Digital Transformation at Gazprom Neft.

"We expect local specialists and specific sites – such as oil fields, oil refineries and petrochemical enterprises – to accelerate product development, add depth and practical focus and make them competitive," said Alexander Smolensky, director of the new JV.