The round table on environmental and industrial safety was held at Gubkin University

On 7 October 2020, the online round table "Environmental and industrial safety – the responsibility of the state, business and society" was jointly held by the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation and the Competence Center for the Quality of Oil and Oil Products of Gubkin University.

The event was aimed to strengthen collaboration between federal and regional government authorities, government control and supervision bodies, oil companies and organizations operating oil industry facilities, research institutions and emergency rescue service organizations established to prevent and eliminate spills of oil and oil products.

Over 80 experts in the field of industrial safety and ecology, including representatives of the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters, the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources, the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing, the Federal Service for Environmental, Technological, and Nuclear Supervision, the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation and others, participated in the event.

In his welcoming speech, Professor Viktor Martynov, Rector of Gubkin University, noted that the issue of environmental protection and technical safety of the Russian oil and gas complex is very important for Gubkin University. One of the main objectives of the University is to train highly qualified specialists capable to prevent emergencies and minimize their consequences.

Mr. Gennady Ordenov, Member of the Committee on Agriculture and Food Policy and Environmental Management at the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, emphasized in his presentation the need for synchronized work of the state, business, experts and public activists to prevent environmental accidents.

Mr. Alexander Gladkov, Director of the Department of Oil and Gas Production and Transportation at the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation, highlighted the need to update the main regulatory documents governing the prevention and elimination of oil spills, as well as addressed the issues of training emergency response teams.

The roundtable participants discussed the requirements in the field of environmental protection, environmental and industrial safety at hazardous facilities for exploration, development, processing, transportation, storage and sale of oil and oil products, as well as noted that the oil and gas industry plays an important role for the Russian economy. As part of the event, specific proposals were articulated for the draft decision of the round table, which are planned to be forwarded to relevant ministries, federal agencies and subordinate authorities and organizations for consideration and further work.