Gazprom Neft has signed a Cooperation Agreement with the Administration of the Kursk Oblast on supplying the region’s road-building industry and highways services with modern, high-tech bitumens, as well as supporting import-substitution in lubricants and service fluids. The document was signed by Alexander Dyukov, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Gazprom Neft, and Roman Starovoyt, Acting Governor of the Kursk Oblast.
The parties have agreed to increase supplies of modern, high-quality bitumen materials for the construction, maintenance and repair of transport-infrastructure facilities throughout the Kursk Oblast. Gazprom Neft supplied 27,500 tonnes of road bitumens to the region in 2018, a more than two-fold increase on 2017 levels. Shipments of bitumen materials to the Kursk Oblast are made directly from Gazprom Neft’s production facilities — the Moscow Refinery and the Ryazan Bitumens Plant.
Joint research and development activities, pilot testing and laboratory research will ensure the use of those materials most appropriate for the specific climatic conditions and traffic loads of the Kursk Oblast. A further separate area of collaboration here will involve the construction of pilot test sections at transport-infrastructure and housing and utilities facilities, as well as construction of test-sections and other facilities to test the effectiveness of innovative bitumen materials.
The second key area of cooperation between the company and the region will be in implementing joint import-substitution programmes in lubricants and service fluids. Of the 6,400 tonnes of lubricants used by businesses in the Kursk Oblast every year, about 30 percent are imported from foreign producers. Gazprom Neft’s capabilities are such that it could cover 100 percent of the region’s demand for lubricant materials. The company already has successful experience in working in the Kursk Oblast, with Gazprom Neft products being successfully utilised by major industrial and agricultural businesses throughout the region.
Alexander Dyukov, Chairman of the Management Board, Gazprom Neft, commented: “The Kursk Oblast declared 2019 the ‘Year of Roads’, envisaging the implementation of a range of initiatives to develop the region’s transport infrastructure. I have no doubt that increasing supplies of modern, high-quality bitumen materials from Gazprom Neft will help improve the quality of road coverings in the Kursk Oblast, while implementing joint import-substitution programmes in lubricants will give further impetus to developing the region’s economy.”
Roman Starovoyt, Acting Governor of the Kursk Oblast, added: “The Kursk Oblast is keen to increase supplies of high-quality, cutting-edge bitumens. The region has started implementing the national ‘Good and Safe Roads’ project, which this year alone will see more than 80 kilometres of roads and highways in the Kursk metropolitan area repaired. Collaboration with Gazprom Neft means we’ll be able to complete all of the tasks involved on time.”
Gazpromneft Bitumen Materials is a subsidiary of Gazprom Neft, specialising in the production and sale of bitumen products. The company currently holds a leading position on the Russian bitumens market. The company’s key production facilities are based in the Moscow, Omsk, Yaroslavl, Smolensk, Rostov and Ryazan Oblasts, as well as in Serbia and Kazakhstan. The company produces more than 180 branded road, construction and roofing bitumens, as well as polymer-modified bitumens (PMBs) and binders (specifically G-Way Styrelf), and a range of bitumen derivatives (mastic compounds, sealants, bridging tapes and more). The company is constantly developing new formulations, and further improving technology in the production of innovative binders.
Gazpromneft Lubricants is a subsidiary of Gazprom Neft, specialising in the production and sale of oils, lubricants and service fluids. Established in November 2007, Gazpromneft Lubricants has six production facilities throughout Russia, Italy and Serbia. Total production volumes stand at 600,000 tonnes of premium oils, lubricants and service fluids per year. The company’s clients and customers include leading industrial enterprises, with a product range including 600 branded oils and lubricants across all market sectors (more than 2,500 products in total). The company’s products have received more than 250 endorsements from major equipment manufacturers including KAMAZ, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Volvo, Renault, General Motors, Cummins, MAN Russia, ZF, Bosch Rexroth, and others.
