Russia's Gazprom Neft and Finland's Zyfra have set up a joint venture for the development of digital solutions for the oil and gas sector aimed at centralising the operational management and creating digital twins via AI technology.
Through their new 'Digital Industrial Platform,' the two companies hope to spearhead technological innovation within the sector owing to struggles the industry has faced with the coronavirus and from the shift towards sustainable energy.
The platform will enter commercial use in 2021 and will host a business-to-business platform designed for oil and gas companies. The base for the cloud will be Zyfra's own Industrial Internet of Things platform (ZIIOT) as well as their digital services for the oil sector alongside developments related to process control engineered by Gazprom Neft.
The platform actively addresses a number of current concerns associated with integrating physical equipment with the products operating on production sites.
Gazprom hopes to provide expert analysis for the platform and integrate it with mass data sharing to allow them to best analyse avenues for upgrades and provide a practical evaluation of technological developments.
Zyfra's role will be to ensure the application of the venture's solutions onto international markets, primarily in South East Asia and Latin America, where the coalition is already extensively working.
Licenses will be implemented by customer service departments and system integrators and around 100 people worldwide will be working on creating solutions for the company's digital tasks.
Andrey Belevtsev, Director of Digital Transformation at Gazprom Neft, said: “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."
According to the JV’s director Alexander Smolensky, Gazprom Neft's participation will enhance Zyfra’s experience and open up access to field-specific technological practice for developers.
He added: “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 not only in the Russian market but in the international market, too."
Gazprom Neft is a subsidiary of partially state-owned energy company Gazprom and is the third-largest oil developer in the country and is ranked third in terms of barrel throughput.
They are arguably most famous currently for spearheading the controversial Nord Stream 2 project, which has soured tensions between the US and EU.
Berlin recently voted in favour of completing the pipeline ahead of retaliatory sanctions on various imported US goods.
The US fear it will make Germany, and the EU as a whole, too dependent on an unreliable neighbour for its energy needs.
Zyfra's earnings for 2019 amounted to more than $50 million (€42 million).
The joint venture will be headed from Gazprom's headquarters in St Petersburg, Russia.
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