International Forum "Oil and Gas – 2026"

From April 21 to 24, 2026, the International Forum "Oil and Gas – 2026" was held at Gubkin University with the support of the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation. It brought together over 2,000 scientists, fuel and energy specialists, and students from specialized educational institutions, including over 300 experts.

At the opening of the forum, the organizers, participants, and guests received welcoming remarks from Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak, Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Sergey Tsivilev, Chairman of the Energy Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Nikolai Shulginov, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Denis Sekirinsky, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation Dmitry Tetenkin, Head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh) Grigory Gurov, President of the Union of Oil and Gas Producers of the Russian Federation Gennady Shmal, President of PJSC Transneft Nikolay Tokarev, President of the Russian Gas Society Pavel Zavalny, General Director of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "REA" of the Ministry of Energy of Russia Alexey Kulapin, General Director of PJSC Surgutneftegaz Vladimir Bogdanov, General Director of JSC Gazstroyprome Nikolay Tkachenko, and General Director of LLC Severneftegazprom Vladimir Dmitruk.

Pavel Kalashnikov, Vice-Rector for Research at Gubkin University, delivered a welcoming address at the forum's opening ceremony. In his address, he wished the forum participants success in their work and noted that it is they, young specialists and scientists, who will be responsible for addressing the future challenges facing the oil and gas industry.

At the forum's opening, a cooperation agreement was signed between Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas (National Research University) and the Moscow City Center for Professional and Career Development.

One of the forum's key events was the strategic panel session, "The Unified Fuel and Energy Complex System as a Key Factor in Ensuring the Industry's Competitiveness and Creating Conditions for Innovation," which was attended by Sergey Romanov, Deputy Director General of the Russian Energy Agency (REA) of the Russian Ministry of Energy; Nikolay Gorban, Director General of Caspian Pipeline Consortium-R; Alexandra Yakovleva, Deputy Director General for Strategic Development and Transformation at Gazstroyprom; Mikhail Konstantinov, First Vice President of Bank GPB (JSC) and Director General of ETP GPB LLC; Nikita Golunov, Vice-Rector for Continuing Professional Education at Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas (National Research University); Mikhail Myskin, Director of the Economic Cooperation Department of the CIS Executive Committee; and Andrey Soloviev, Head of the Innovative and Scientific-Technical Development Department at Transneft PJSC. The main topics of the strategic panel session were issues related to the development prospects of the fuel and energy complex within the framework of the adopted energy strategy and the unified fuel and energy system. The creation of conditions for innovation and new technological solutions as key factors in maintaining the industry's competitiveness was also discussed.

On the opening day of the forum, the traditional exhibition opened, presenting the most advanced developments by scientists from Gubkin University and other organizations in the oil and gas industry. The exhibition was attended by the Nasha Laba project, Konstanta LLC, Geoseis Holding, HIMMED Trading House LLC, BT SVAP LLC, TEN.PRINT LLC, ElMetro-Inzhenering LLC, Park-Stroy LLC, POLIPLASTIK Group LLC, Simoil LLC, Gazstroyprom JSC, RDP Innovations LLC, MITs GSM LLC, the Russian Biotechnology University, the Gennady Komissarov Foundation for the Support of Young Scientists, the V.P. Chichkanov Charitable Foundation for the Support of Young Scientists, the Nedra-Test Research and Testing Center, and the Gubkin Tsifra Development Program Support Department.

On April 20 and 21, 2026, the forum hosted the "Computer Engineering and Technological Modeling" championship, where teams tackled a problem related to the application of modern simulation software packages to address oil and gas industry challenges.

From April 21 to 22, 2026, the 80th International Youth Scientific Conference "Oil and Gas – 2026" was held. The conference aims to analyze current advances in oil and gas science and technology, identify key areas of scientific research, and identify and support promising research by young scientists. The conference featured scientific papers presented in 25 thematic areas, which had passed the preliminary review stage. Over 700 papers were presented during the conference. Following the conference, the expert community noted the high level of the papers presented and the interest in The event focused on the interest of young professionals and students in solving pressing problems in the fuel and energy sector. The authors of the best works were awarded diplomas and special prizes.

The 5th All-Russian Youth Programming Championship "Digital Oil" was officially opened on April 22, 2026, the second day of the forum, in collaboration with representatives of Avtomatika Service LLC and GSP Center LLC. Seventeen teams participated in the event. Participants were presented with a problem based on real oil refining production data. The teams analyzed time series of hydrotreating unit operating parameters and developed an algorithm to determine the rate of catalyst degradation and predict the critical point. Gazprom Avtomatizatsiya PJSC, Gazstroyprom JSC, GPB Bank (JSC), and ETP GPB LLC served as programming championship partners. The "Granite Rodents" team (Gubkin University) won the championship, while the "Zero Hypothesis" team (Gubkin University) took second place, and the "Cryptoclan" team (Gubkin University) took third place.

The 6th Moscow International Forum "Energy Security. Eurasian Scenario" has become a major annual event. It is held to analyze current energy security issues in Eurasia and to examine, from the perspective of the humanities and technical sciences, a range of contemporary and relevant Eurasian issues related to national security in the energy sector. The event was timed to coincide with Remembrance Day for Victims of Radiation Accidents and Disasters, established on the anniversary of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident.

The final round of the 10th All-Russian competition "Best Student Scientific Society of the Fuel and Energy Complex of Russia" took place on the third day of the forum. The competition was dedicated to the theme "The Energy of Unity: Regional Energy Integration and the Development of Isolated Systems." In 2026, 13 of the best teams from student scientific societies from across Russia participated in the competition. The team from Irkutsk National Research Technical University was named the best student scientific society and the cup winner. Second place went to the team from Tyumen Industrial University, and third place went to the Ordzhonikidze Russian State Geological Prospecting University. The competition's partners were Gazprom Avtomatizatsiya PJSC, Gazstroyprom JSC, GPB Bank (JSC), and ETP GPB LLC.

At the 19th All-Russian Scientific and Technical Conference "Current Issues of Oil and Gas Complex Development in Russia," specialists and scientists from oil and gas companies, industry research and design institutes, and higher and secondary vocational educational institutions exchanged experiences and discussed the challenges of implementing advanced scientific developments in the industry. Seven joint panel sessions addressed a wide range of issues, ranging from oil and gas field prospecting, exploration, and development to current issues in education at oil and gas universities.

Also, on April 23, 2026, the Scientific and Technical Conference "Fundamental Problems of Low-Profitability Oil Field Development and Operation. Solutions to Current Issues" was held. It was organized and held jointly with the Council of Young Scientists of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The conference brought together over 40 specialists from the Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas (NRU), the Joint Institute for High Temperatures of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Oil and Gas Geophysics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the V.A. Trapeznikov Institute of Control Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the M.V. The conference featured presentations from the Keldysh Institute of Geophysics and Geology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Central Economics and Mathematics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the State Reserves Committee, RussNeft Oil Company, Rosneft Oil Company, RN-Technologies, TatNIPIneft, and other oil and gas organizations. Fourteen papers were presented at the conference, covering the application of wave technologies to improve production efficiency, the use of AI technologies in oil field development and operation, methods for developing low-permeability reservoirs, and many other topics. The conference aimed to develop expert opinions on addressing pressing issues in the development and operation of low-profit oil fields.

The third day of the forum included a strategic game hosted by the Decade of Science and Technology project office and master classes, during which participants tackled oil and gas company management challenges and discussed the relationship between fundamental and applied science. The master class featured demonstrations and case studies of using Russian EcoRouter network equipment for critical information infrastructure at fuel and energy companies. During the master class led by JSC Gazstroyprom, participants learned about lean manufacturing tools and implemented them in practice. Additionally, forum participants had the opportunity to participate in the "Power of Science" marathon as part of PAO Gazprom's Open Science project.

Discussions also took place at the roundtable "Environmental Well-being – the Path to Sustainable Development." The roundtable focused on current environmental and sustainable development issues, with an emphasis on finding practice-oriented solutions and fostering collaboration between the educational environment, companies, relevant government agencies, and environmental organizations.

As part of the forum's business program, on April 23, 2026, the Youth Council of the Oil and Gas Industry under the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation organized a closed meeting of those responsible for career guidance (career guidance project supervisors) at Russian oil and gas companies on the topic "Practices for Effective Interaction with the School Educational Environment."

The final day of the International Forum "Oil and Gas – 2026" was no less interesting, with a "Meeting Without Ties" held on the topic "The Role of Young Scientific and Technical Personnel in Building a Sustainable Energy Future for Russia."

During the event, forum participants and Gubkin University students had the opportunity to ask questions to representatives of oil and gas companies and government agencies. Participants in the "Smart Meeting" included Ali Asadov, Deputy Director of the Department of State Policy for Scientific and Technological Development of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation; Andrey Kotelnikov, Chairman of the Council of Young Scientists of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Assistant Director of the Joint Institute for High Temperatures of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Oleg Zhdaneyev, Head of the Competence Center for Technological Development of the Fuel and Energy Sector; Olga Kuznetsova, Advisor to the Head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh); Yegor Zadeba, Associate Professor, Senior Researcher at the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI, and Member of the Coordinating Council for Youth Affairs in Science and Education of the Presidential Council for Science and Education; and Artem Shkitin, First Deputy General Director of GSP-4 LLC. Topics discussed included the role of young scientific and technical personnel in building a sustainable energy future for Russia, as well as the development of a talent pool for the fuel and energy sector. The meeting was moderated by Anton Tumanov, Vice-Rector for Youth Policy and Educational Work at Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas (National Research University).

Forum participants and guests visited Gubkin University's research and innovation centers, where they were able to tour operating laboratories, see modern equipment for practical training, and ask questions to research project managers. The excursion program included the A.S. Oganov Offshore Drilling Center, the L.V. Pustovalov Mineralogical and Petrographic Museum, the Pipeline Transport Training and Demonstration Site, laboratories of the Department of Physical and Colloid Chemistry, the V.I. Grayfer Field Development Management Center, and the Well Control Simulator (Drilling Foreman Workstation).

The International Forum "Oil and Gas – 2026" was organized by the Gubkin University Student Scientific Society.

The results of the International Forum "Oil and Gas - 2026" and final materials are posted on the forum's official website.