The new Working Committee on Modern Technologies and Prospective Oil and Gas Industry Projects of the International Business Congress (IBC) convened for its first meeting today at the 6th St. Petersburg International Gas Forum.

The Committee was established as an open platform for sharing best practices and discussing novel ideas aimed at boosting technological advancement of the companies involved in hydrocarbon production, transportation and processing.

The meeting brought together top executives of over 30 world's leading oil and gas companies, including Gazprom, General Electric, Linde, Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Shell, Schlumberger, and Wintershall, as well as representatives of R&D and engineering organizations.

The meeting participants discussed the global practices in offshore oil and gas development, paying special attention to hydrocarbon production on the Arctic shelf and in the Far East, as well as to promising technologies in the construction of exploratory and development wells. Also discussed were the use of subsea production systems, including their configuration, structure, technical specifications, materials used, operational modes, and maintenance issues, and the application of lightly manned technologies.

The next meeting of the Working Committee will take place in January 2017. It will address the development of high-efficiency control systems for production and technological processes in the oil and gas industry. The meeting will be hosted by Schneider Electric.