Gubkin University delegation attended the 22nd World Petroleum Congress
On July 9-13, 2017 the 22nd World Petroleum Congress was held in Istanbul, Turkey. Gubkin University was represented by its delegation. Following the vote, Russia was honored to host the 6th Youth Forum of the World Petroleum Council in St. Petersburg scheduled for the summer 2019.
The World Petroleum Congress, called “the Olympic Games in the oil and gas industry”, is the most significant and global event of the fuel and energy complex which is held every three years in one of the member countries of the World Petroleum Council.
This year the Congress platform brought together over 600 experts, 50 ministers and representatives from energy ministries and 400 young professionals who participated in nearly 100 technical sessions. Russia was represented by 3 experts, 2 of whom are Gubkin University faculty members: Elena Fedorova, assistant professor of the Department of Oil Refining and Gas Processing Equipment became the moderator of the round table titled “The role of LNG in security of global energy supply”, and Vlada Streletskaya, assistant to the Rector became the vice-chair of the section titled “Human resources – how to attract and retain talent in our industry”.
The program of the Congress included ministerial sessions, panel discussions, plenary sessions, round tables, expert workshops, where the issues of modern technologies of oil and gas production, hydrocarbon transportation and processing, innovative methods of management and strategic development of the international energy business, prospects and challenges for development of the global oil and gas industry were discussed under the slogan “bridges to the energy future”.
From 1,552 abstracts submitted for the competition, only 251 authors from 35 countries were invited to make presentations at 20 technical sessions. Gubkin University was represented at several sections. Anatoly Zolotukhin, advisor to the Rector, professor of the Department of Oil Field Development and Operation became a speaker of the expert session named “Best practices in offshore exploration and production in times of crisis”. Assistants of the Department of Strategic Management of the Fuel and Energy Complex were invited to participate in poster sessions – Victoria Fedorova with the presentation “Small-scale LNG: playing a key role in gas markets transformation”, and Diana Tyrtyshova with the presentation “CNG projects as part of petroleum companies diversification strategy in the period of the energy challenges”. Both presentations were prepared under the guidance of Elena Telegina, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Dean of the Faculty of International Energy Business, Doctor of Economics, Professor at Gubkin University. PhD student of the Department of Strategic Management of the Fuel and Energy Complex Riverson Oppong made two presentations – “Beyond growing energy demand – Africa’s socio-economic and technological challenges” and “Socio-economic impact of gas condensate well spacing problems using genetic algorithms – case study from Northern America”.
In addition, volunteers from all participating countries were involved in organizing the World Petroleum Congress. Five volunteers represented Russia, including four students from Gubkin University Arthur Akhmetov, Alexey Vikhrov, Lesana Kurbonshoyeva and Ivan Kurchatov. All of them are students who demonstrated high academic and research potential and received certificates for invaluable contribution to the Congress.
During the Russian ministerial session of the World Petroleum Congress, three participants were selected to receive scholarships “The Golden Legacy of the World Petroleum Congress” established by the Russian National Committee of the World Petroleum Council. According to the decision of the evaluation committee, Gubkin University students Arthur Akhmetov, Alexey Vikhrov, Lesana Kurbonshoyeva became the most talented and successful in spring semester 2017. The winners received awards from the Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Anton Inyutsyn and the President of the World Petroleum Council Joseph Toth. The competition is traditionally held twice a year; students from Russian universities, which offer training on a wide range of oil and gas majors, participate in the competition. From 2015 onwards, 35 students received this scholarship.
As part of the World Petroleum Congress, the meeting of the National Committees of the World Petroleum Council was also held. The meeting agenda included selection and approval of the location for the Sixth Youth Forum of the World Petroleum Council in 2019 as well as elections of the Executive Committee of the World Petroleum Council for the cycle 2017-2020. Following the vote, Russia was honored to host the 6th Youth Forum of the World Petroleum Council in St. Petersburg in 2019. Gubkin University as a key talent pool for the oil and gas industry and experienced in hosting large-scale events in the energy field will be involved in the organization of the Forum. According to election results held during the Council meeting, Vlada Streletskaya was affirmed the Russian representative to the Young Professionals Committee of the World Petroleum Council, and Professor Anatoly Zolotukhin – the Senior Vice President of the World Petroleum Council.
