Thanks to its program, in 2025, St. Petersburg International Gas Forum promises to become a large-scale event with 110+ events, which are going to cover every aspect of the gas industry, from geological exploration to digital technologies introduction.

The focal event will be NATURAL GAS MARKET IN 2025-2035: NEW CONTOURS IN A FAST-MOVING ENVIRONMENT Plenary Session – the participants will talk about the key trends of the industry’s development.

A new occasion on the program is worth your particular attention – it is the Strategic session dedicated to development of the continental shelf. This is the first time when it has been included into the Forum agenda.

Technical sections will encompass the entire cycle of industrial procedures from mining to procession, whereas general industry tracks will focus on the matters of international collaboration and technological independence enhancement.

Considering how diverse and various the events are, it is really worth planning your participation to use the opportunities offered by the Forum to the maximum efficiency.

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The Forum stands as an effective platform to reinforce investment-related connections, to unlock the economic potential, and showcase the accomplishments of the Russian regions.

As previously, this year SPIGF will be attended by representatives from throughout Russia, all of them directly involved into the gas sector.

During the exhibition program, the top companies will demonstrate their ground-breaking solutions and technologies designed to develop the industry and consolidation of Russia’s position in the international stage.

Companies from the Astrakhan, Volgograd, Kirov, and Chelyabinsk Regions have already confirmed their participation along with the ones from the Perm Territory and the Republic of Tatarstan. These regions are joining the Forum with their collective stands.

By the way, the Volgograd Region is taking part in SPIGF for the first time ever. It will be represented by Volgograd Ceramic Plant, RIWELL Plant, KOZ Loading Solutions, Russian Stainless Company, and Sebryakov Mechanical Plant.

The Republic of Tatarstan is going to become a regional partner for SPIGF 2025. They will operate two stands. One of them will be used to present Tatarstan’s industrial potential, and the second one will reveal the region’s cultural heritage and traditions to the participants and guests of the Forum.

The event is part of the Forum’s convention program.

During the Strategic Session, the participants will have a chance to have an open dialogue and discuss certain hot matters, including implementation of the shelf based projects and fundamental challenges that companies face during infrastructural development and exploitation in offshore fields.

The scheduled round table discussions will cover several areas of concern, including well drilling and construction — ENSURING PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT AS REGARDS TO WELL CONSTRUCTION TO INCREASE POTENTIAL OF THE SHELF RECLAMATION; facilities and infrastructure development — TECHNOLOGICAL INDEPENDENCE OF INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT WORKS IN OFFSHORE FIELDS; and production safety — SHELF CODE: RULES OF INCIDENT-FREE GAME.

The Strategic Session will be participated by top experts of the oil and gas sector, heads of key companies working in this sector, and representatives of state authorities.

The event is arranged by Media Miry.

Regarding participation please contact Natalia Khlebnaya:

+7 (495) 215-23-29 add. 106

+7 (901) 184-07-67

✉️ pr@mediamiry.ru

* Equipment in this picture is property of Gazprom

The participants will talk about the current trends of the natural gas market.

The St. Petersburg International Gas Forum 2025 will become a venue for NATURAL GAS MARKET IN 2025-2035: NEW CONTOURS IN A FAST-MOVING ENVIRONMENT Plenary Session.

Every year, directors of the biggest Russian and global companies take part in the plenary session during SPIGF. This event is not just a place where key players of the industry meet. This is a location for communication, a meeting where fundamental concepts are produced that the future of the gas sector depends on. There, they talk about challenges on the table and far-reaching technologies, as well as economic models and geopolitical factors that have influence on global supplies and consumption of natural gas.

In 2024, the SPIGF plenary session was participated by Alexey Miller — Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, Sergei Tsivilev — Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation, Peter Szijjarto — Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Viktor Karankevich — Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus, Roman Sklyar — First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Jamshid Kuchkarov — Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan – Minister of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and Huang Yongzhang — Vice President of the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

St. Petersburg International Gas Forum will be hosted by ExpoForum on October 7 through 10 (St. Petersburg).

For many years, SPIGF has maintained its status as a leading platform for effective interaction between the global gas industry companies. The Forum brings together industry representatives and promotes the solution of current challenges in the fuel and energy complex.

“Over the years, the Forum has grown from a small project to one of the most significant industry gas events in the world. SPIGF is in the top 3 annual projects, and large Russian and international companies are striving to take part in it,” said Denis Osadchiy, Head of the St. Petersburg International Gas Forum.

Participants and guests of the Forum will find a rich convention program, a large-scale exhibition of technologies, equipment and services for the industry. In addition, cultural and entertainment programs will be organised.

As before, SPIGF 2025 will be held in Expoforum, the most state-of-the-art venue in Europe and Russia, which is used for business meetings and entertainment occasions.

SPIGF 2024 results:

• 34 000 participants from 54 countries
• 50 000 m of exhibition space
• 600 exhibitors
• 110 convention program events
• 800 speakers
• over 400 journalists from 200 media

We can hardly wait to meet you in autumn 2025 at the venue of St. Petersburg International Gas Forum!

The central topic of this year is “Present and future of energy world”. The project has been implemented since 2015 by St. Petersburg State University of Economics (UNECON) with the support of Gazprom, EF-International and other partner companies.

This year, 30 best students from 12 countries (Russia, Belarus, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Nigeria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Vietnam, Zambia) out of 300 candidates got opportunity to meet in St. Petersburg at the Expoforum site to discuss relevant issues of energy industry development together with leading experts.

9 October, Day 1

The first day began for the participants with meeting each other and project organisers, as well as team building which gave participants opportunity to get to know each other for further fruitful joint work.

The event continued with the official Youth Day opening ceremony, which took place at the stand of Gazprom partner universities. Welcoming remarks were made by Deputy Chairman of the Management Committee of Gazprom Sergey Khomyakov, Rector of St. Petersburg State University of Economics Igor Maksimtsev and Director of Higher Economic School, Vice-Rector of St. Petersburg State University of Economics Yana Klementovichus.

Sergey Khomyakov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Committee of Gazprom PJSC

“The Youth Day has been held for ten years already. Many of its participants currently work in the world’s leading energy companies. I am sure that today, those people are also present here, who will soon be introducing advanced technologies in the oil and gas sector, basing on deep knowledge, as well as on principles of careful attitude to the environment. Your participation in the forum is a big step into the future. During the Youth Day, you’ll have a wonderful opportunity to meet leaders of the energy industry, talk to renowned experts, feel the atmosphere of the Gas Forum. The organizers have come up with complex tasks and competitions. And you will be able to gain professional experience here, which will help you in building your future successful career”.

Igor Maksimtsev, Rector of St. Petersburg State University of Economics

“Dear friends! I am glad to welcome you in Russia, in my beloved city of St. Petersburg. You have passed through very difficult challenges to become participants of the Youth Day of St. Petersburg International Gas Forum. I wish you to have interesting meetings, discussions, a good stay in St. Petersburg and, of course, human and friendly communication. During the entire Youth Day, there will be meetings, competitions, but you have already won, because today you are here with us at SPIGF 2024”.

Yana Klementovichus, Director of Higher Economic School, Vice-Rector of St. Petersburg State University of Economics

“Exactly ten years ago, we launched the first Youth Day and saw the same smiling, interested eyes when we met our first participants. This event brings together the best representatives of the young generation. Here you can double your energy to solve important problems, discover new opportunities, find answers to sophisticated professional questions. We really hope that this energy will be your guiding star for the coming years, so that you can succeed as professionals. It is no coincidence that we are opening our project, our Youth Day programme, at the stand of Gazprom partner universities, because working with universities is one of the company’s key goals. I wish you to get maximum energy, recharge for the coming years, unite to solve very important problems in the energy sector”.

Then participants went to the SPIGF exhibition. Representatives of Gazprom Invest conducted a tour for the students, where they told them about the stages of integrated implementation of investment projects and provided information about the functioning of a unique construction complex that allows implementing large-scale projects even in the harshest natural conditions. At the Gazprom GID stand, participants got acquainted with the GID mobile application developed by Gazprom, which is a multifunctional platform that provides access to many services and opportunities for company’s employees. The application allows to solve administrative issues and also includes various entertaining and useful content, a news feed, blogs, personal recommendations, etc. The students also visited Gazprom Science lecture hall and listened to a lecture on the evolution of international gas markets, where they learned about price formation, new technologies and various aspects related to gas contracts.

The program of the first day continued with a panel discussion “Alice in digital grid world”, dedicated to the transformation of personnel training process. Within the framework of the event, Alexander Voloshin, Head of the Department of Relay Protection and Automation of Power Systems, Director of the Centre of the National Technology Initiative “Technologies of Electricity Transportation and Distributed Intelligent Energy Systems” of NRU “MPEI”, Dmitry Shirshov, Head of Directorate of Gazprom and Evgeny Gengrinovich, Advisor to the Director General of Infotecs, noted that young specialists after training often face a new, unfamiliar reality at work and feel like Alice Through the Looking-Glass – the world has turned upside down. The experts shared their experience in building a modern personnel training process that allows graduates to quickly integrate into the work process, discussed the current assessment of the competencies of industry specialists in the market, as well as directions for the development of training methods to ensure the competitiveness of the industry. The session was moderated by Ivan Komarov, Vice-Rector for Science and Innovations of NRU “Moscow Power Engineering Institute” (MPEI).

At the end of the day, Gazprom Invest representatives Dmitry Afanasev, Head of Resource Planning Department, and Maria Mokhnacheva, Leading Specialist of the Department of Large Projects Support, held an interactive session “Trends and needs 2025+ of Gazprom project activity”, were they spoke about the company’s experience in implementing large projects, digital tools, sought-after professional skills and competencies of the future, as well as opportunities for internships in the company.

After intensive convention program, participants had a city tour and visited Lakhta Centre.

10 October, Day 2

In the morning of the second day, students had free time to take a closer look at the SPIGF exhibition, the area of ​​which this year was a record 48000 m2 and which brought together 600 exhibitors.

After that Youth Day participants went to the SPIGF Plenary Session “Gas market 2024: The new world order outlines”, where industry leaders discussed trends in the development of the global natural gas market and prospects for international cooperation in conditions of a changing economic and geopolitical situation.

One of the key events of the Youth Day was off-tie meeting “Leadership in energy: Generation gap”, which traditionally took place in the format of a dialogue between representatives of the expert community and students. The following experts took part in the discussion: Denis Demin, Head of the Department of Strategy, Innovation and Sustainable Development of Gazprom Neft, Janco Lončar, Director of Comita d.o.o., Kiril Polous, Deputy Head of Department – Head of Directorate of Gazprom, Konstantin Romanov, Deputy Head of Directorate of Gazprom; Director General of Gazprom Hydrogen. The meeting addressed the issues of energy transition, the use of renewable energy sources, decarbonization, Russia’s place in the global energy sector, international cooperation in energy, finding balance between industrial development and compliance with the climate agenda. Particular attention was paid to discussing the knowledge and skills that young energy specialists need, as well as discussion of effective knowledge transfer strategies to mitigate the effects of generation change and ensure a sustainable future. Students also had opportunity to ask their questions. Dmitry Vasilenko, Vice-Rector for International Relations of UNECON moderated the meeting.

A special moment of the programme was the Winners of the Virtual Academy awards ceremony, held by the Chairman of the Management Committee of Gazprom Alexey Miller who personally greeted the participants of Youth Day 2024, wished them success in setting ambitious goals and achieving them, and congratulated the best graduates of the Virtual Academy (the selection stage and educational programme of Youth Day), which was held in June-July 2024, and solemnly presented them with certificates. The winners were: Daria Selezneva (Lomonosov Moscow State University), Annicette Ingrid Noumbi Domgouo (University of Douala, Cameroon), Thi Thanh Thanh Le (Yersin University in Dalat, Vietnam), Amirkhon Aminov (SPbPU), Angelina Matsiushenka (Belarusian State University).

At the end of the day, the participants had a networking session with energy experts, during which Konstantin Romanov, Deputy Head of Directorate of Gazprom; Director General of Gazprom Hydrogen, Vasily Zinin, Deputy Head of Directorate – Head of Division of Gazprom, Denis Demin, Head of the Department of Strategy, Innovation and Sustainable Development of Gazprom Neft, and Andrey Berezin, Director for Development of International Center for Emerging Markets Research, Youth Day alumnus, told the young people about their projects and research, shared practical advice, discussed issues participants were interested in concerning their further professional development.

11 October, Day 3

On the third and the final day, participants had an entertaining interactive business game “Energy landscape: Towards advanced technologies”. The teams represented energy companies and worked on their development strategies. The task of the teams-companies was to develop and optimize the world’s energy systems using advanced technologies and improvements to achieve high profit and minimize environmental damage. Over the course of five rounds, the teams made decisions, seeing in real time how they impacted the global energy market and geographic regions. Upon results of the business game, the Jury determined the team that completed the task, used resources rationally and achieved the best results – the winner was the team “Red Phoenix Power”, which was represented by Amirkhon Aminov (SPbPU), Nikita Izbyakov (SPbPU), Nikita Kuznetsov (RANEPA), Eliza Mustafina (USPTU), Thi Ngoc Tra Le (University of Economics and Law, Vietnam), Chizoba Nzeakor (ITMO).

The Jury of the business game united: Alexey Koshelets, Head of Division of Gazprom (Chairman of the Jury), Leonid Sukhikh, Rector of Tomsk Polytechnic University, Konstantin Slanov, Business Development Director of Comita Digital Technologies; Director General of Comita Digital Technologies Kazakhstan, Olga Orlova, Head of Banking and Financial Markets Department, Professor, Executive Director of the Endowment fund of UNECON, Alexey Kholodkov, Continuous Improvement System manager of the Department of Economics and Corporate Planning of Gazprom Neft. The moderators were Natalia Sarakhanova, Academic Director of Youth Day, Associate Professor of UNECON, and Tatyana Krylova, Expert of School of Business and International Proficiency of MGIMO University.

The official end of the Youth Day 2024 took place at the closing ceremony. Elena Kasyan, Head of Department of Gazprom, addressed to the participants and noted that during participation in the Gas Forum and Youth Day, which is an excellent platform for professional development, students were able to get acquainted with the gas industry, the real sector of the economy, on which the development of countries and the well-being of citizens depend, and also wished all participants to always be ambitious and hardworking. In her turn, Yana Klementovichus, Director of Higher Economic School, Vice-Rector of UNECON, congratulated everyone on the finale of the Youth Day, expressed gratitude to Gazprom for the unique opportunity and initiative that has been supported for ten years, EF-International, which provides maximum comfort on the site for successful work, and Gazprom flagship universities for their maximum involvement and support of the project. Special words of gratitude were expressed to the members of the business game jury and the team of organizers, including Dmitry Vasilenko, Director of the Youth Day project.

In this way, three intensive, useful and interesting days passed, which the participants will remember for a long time. And the Youth Day project will continue its work in 2025 and will be happy to welcome new students!

In 2024, St. Petersburg International Gas Forum (SPIGF) brought together more than 34,000 participants from 54 countries. Its convention program included 110 events that covered 19 topics, in particular, gas infrastructures in regions, collaboration with BRICS and SCO countries, hydrogen energy, LNG, research and development in the gas industry, import substitution, digital transformation, human resources development and sustainable growth. Thematic sessions, conferences and round table discussions welcomed about 800 speeches of industry professionals, including officials of the federal and regional regulatory bodies, relevant associations and unions, directors, senior and technological engineers, scientists, as well as emerging specialists and students of industry-oriented universities. Exhibitions arranged during SPIGF took all the premises available in Expoforum. At the area of 50,000 sq. m over 600 companies showcased their research and technology projects along with innovative solutions designed for the gas sector.

One venue, even as spacious, state-of-the-art and hi-tech as Expoforum, really couldn’t contain it all, as throughout its existence SPIGF reached an unprecedented scale. That’s why this year some of the events of the Gas Forum took place in convention halls of Hilton St. Petersburg Expoforum. The Plenary Session of OMR 2024 International Exhibition and the Conference for Shipbuilding and Equipment and Technologies for Development of the Arctic and Continental Shelf arranged during the St. Petersburg International Gas Forum was held in the Mariinsky Palace. The enormously spacious Gazprom Arena became a place for a gala dinner dedicated to the St. Petersburg International Gas Forum and the 10^th anniversary of Expoforum Convention and Exhibition Centre.

SPIGF was attended by guests from the countries of Europe, the CIS, the Asian-Pacific Region, Africa, and the Arab world. This year, the events taking place during the Forum were covered by more than 400 journalists from 200 Russian and foreign media.

“Previous Forum events were no match to this one. We’ve reached the highest, the advanced level. Exhibits, technologies and equipment presented at the Forum were collaboratively designed and produced by Gazprom, R&D institutions, universities, the Russian Academy of Sciences. This ecosystem is operated smoothly, is well-coordinated and last but not least, it is focused on certain targets, on certain results. We feel confident about the future. Everything we’ve seen at the Forum is a world-class result,” said Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee.

The key event of the Forum was the Plenary Session where they talked about the new world order being established in global energy. The meeting was participated by Alexey Miller, Sergei Tsivilev, Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation, Peter Szijjarto, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Roman Sklyar, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Alparslan Bayraktar, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of the Republic of Turkey, Huang Yongzhang, Vice President of the China National Petroleum Corporation, Jamshid Kuchkarov, Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and Viktor Karankevich, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus.

One of the fundamental topics discussed at SPIGF 2024 was international collaboration enhancement. One way or another, these prospects were brought up by all the participants of the business agenda. Another essential issue raised at the Forum was development of the petrochemical sector. Its companies produce feedstock required for making the broadest range of goods, including consumer products, medical goods and even foods. The most common example of such stock material is plastic of all kinds. Every year, we use increasingly more of it. According to the experts who spoke at SPIGF, by 2050 the demand for plastic making stocks is going to increase more than twofold despite the global ambition for circular economy and deplasticization policies. Russia possesses all the opportunities to take the leading place in the global market of petrochemical products: this was the conclusion made by the participants of the panel discussion named Petroleum Chemistry: New Development Horizons for Innovative Products and Materials, New Technological Patterns. “Further growth of the petrochemical sector is of strategic importance for the state. It increases the demand for sophisticated technologies and promotes advanced operations,” said Dmitry Zavalov, Deputy CEO of the Russian Energy Agency of the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation. The Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation is already implementing the programs to help with that. Since the first sanctions were imposed in 2014, more than 70 bln rubles have been allocated to support the oil and gas industry. “We’ve incorporated all the industry players at the venue of the Oil and Gas Equipment Import Substitution Coordination Board managed by two Vice Prime Ministers: Denis Manturov and Alexander Novak. Our objective is to make sure that by 2030 the Russian oil and gas industry becomes completely independent,” concluded Hadjimurat Saadulaev, Head of Oil & Gas Procession and Water Gas Treatment Equipment Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation.

Moreover, this year at St. Petersburg International Gas Forum they talked about sustainable development of the industry and environmental matters, about digital transformation and introduction of AI-powered technologies, design and construction issues, innovations, underground gas storage, legal risks and new approaches to marketing and PR in the gas sector. 

SPIGF 2024 was also the place for a whole pack of ceremonies participated by Alexey Miller. In particular, they started new gas supplying and infrastructural facilities for consumers located in all federal districts of the Russian Federation. With it, 1,900 house properties will get a chance to connect to pipeline gas. Further, they launched Gazprom’s Metrology Centre with the State primary standard of gas consumption. This Centre is the first Russian platform where high-precision gas volume metering devices can be tested, validated and calibrated. On top of that, they started a new condensate de-ethanization unit at the Urengoy Plant in order to get the condensate ready for transportation. This unit is an essential element of Gazprom’s network utilized to process the resources mined in the Nadym-Pur-Taz Region. 

Another event arranged during SPIGF was its traditional Youth Day. This year, 30 students from 12 countries were chosen from the 300 applicants. They got a chance to meet at Expoforum in St. Petersburg and discuss the hottest issues related to development of the energy industry.

Genuine achievements made by the Russian industry and science were displayed at SPIGF 2024 exposition. In fact, several dedicated exhibitions were arranged during the Forum. They were InGAS Stream 2024 – Innovations in the Gas Industry Specialised Exhibition, Import Substitution in the Gas Industry Corporate Exposition of Gazprom, ROS-GAS-EXPO International Specialised Exhibition of Natural Gas Industry and Technology for Gas Facility and OMR 2024 International Exhibition and Conference for Shipbuilding and Equipment and Technologies for Development of the Arctic and Continental Shelf. One more exhibition that took place during the event presented the collective stands by the Russian regions: the Perm Territory, the Republic of Tatarstan, the Moscow, Astrakhan, Chelyabinsk, Penza and Omsk Regions. The official delegation led by Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, took a tour around the exhibitions set up at St. Petersburg International Gas Forum. For instance, they were introduced to Oleg Dobrobot, an inspecting robot made by Gazprom Transgaz Tomsk in collaboration with Cognitive Pilot. Further, they viewed the IT polygon project designed for gas transporting companies by Gazprom CPS IT Company and examined KTT-50, a new full-revolving pipe-laying crane manufactured by Klintsovsky Truck Crane Plant. At the stand of Kazakhstan adorned with handmade carpets and paintings they played musical instruments and demonstrated authentic jewelry.

At the 12^th InGAS Stream 2024 – Innovations in the Gas Industry International Exhibition the most cutting-edge technologies for the oil and gas sector were presented. At Gazprom Gas Engine Fuel stand, the visitors of the Forum were presented natural gas operated LADA Vesta and BAIC U5 Plus adjusted for people with disabilities. Peterpipe Company showcased a wide range of polyethylene fittings, and Electroshield Samara brought distribution gear in compliance with international standards. PeterburgGaz put on display their Seeker mobile laboratory for gas leak detection, and Mosoblgaz showed their affordable top-quality gas equipment. Goreltex exhibited explosion-proof equipment, Turbulentnost Don demonstareted different modifications of ultrasound gas flow meters, TekhnoProm presented BKM-5 corrosion monitoring unit, and Bunter Group showed a model of a spherical vessel that is currently produced in Russia. These innovations outline that Russian manufacturers pursue technological independence and further growth of the local industry.

As part of the Forum Gazprom arranged their Import Substitution in the Gas Industry Corporate Exposition. The exhibits were brought by leaders of the industry, by equipment manufacturers, technology developers and academic institutions. All of them presented the most state-of-the art projects required by the gas industry.

The outdoor section of SPIGF 2024 exposition included portable gas tank trucks, eco-friendly Moskvich automobiles, dump trucks and tractors running on natural gas. The list of exhibits included a BelAZ 90-tons quarry truck that runs on LNG with a dump module for cryogenic tanks, a Galichanin 100-tons portable crane on Volat chassis by the Minsk Wheeled Tractor Plant, and two collaborative projects by RariTEK: CNG-operated BELARUS tractors produced by Minsk Tractor Works and the world’s first LNG-operated POLESIE grain harvester.

The Gas Forum participants could attend several meeting venues at once. As usually, the Business Matchmaking Centre worked to promote new relations between suppliers and customers. This year, over 1,800 meetings took place there. For the first time ever, SPIGF hosted the New Technologies for the Gas Industry presentation day, which was attended by more than 50 oil, gas and industrial companies. During all the four days of the Forum, the Business Lounge, a communication venue for business gatherings in an informal setting, was opened. This year, SPIGF participants were invited to take a technical tour to the Vsevolozhsk Gas Turbine Heating Power Plant: there the specialists were demonstrated gas turbine units in operation and learnt about new heat and electricity generation technologies. Besides, they were told about the main stages of the electricity production cycle.

The convention program of SPIGF 2024 was really packed, there was time not only for business meetings and serious discussions, but also for entertainment and sport events, too. For instance, Winline Billiard Club arranged at the Forum venue hosted WINLINE Cup of President of the Russian Gas Society. Chess enthusiasts were invited to try their strength in intellectual battles of chess with grand masters in the simultaneous exhibition sessions. Trophies won by Zenit Football Club were displayed at their stand, and Luciano, Zenit’s forward, gave autographs to the fans. Gas Forum Golf Tournament’ 24, the official golf competition, took place in the MillCreek golf club.

Gazprom Mezhregiongaz opened the Gas for Russia media studio at their stand. Guests of the studio talked about gas infrastructure development and extension in the Russian regions, as well as about social, cultural, sportive and historical initiatives.

Russia – Co-occurence of Good News online studio established by St. Petersburg Diary (Peterburgsky Dnevnik) and ExpoForum International was operated at the Forum venue, too. During the live streams, the hosts and journalists interviewed the key participants and media VIPs of the event.

A special mobile app was created for the participants of St. Petersburg International Gas Forum, which made it possible to solve all the needs of users: from managing a personal schedule and making appointments to booking restaurants. SPIGF mobile app is the result of the joint work of ExpoForum International and Gazprom ID Operator: a memorandum of intent to develop digital solutions was signed by companies this year at St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

The Imperial Porcelain Manufactory, which celebrates its 280^th anniversary in 2024, showed some outstanding porcelain art from the imperial times to the participants and guests of the Forum. With those services of dishes, vases and sculptures they told the guests how porcelain reflected not only tastes of emperors and empresses but the major landmarks of Russian history, too.

“Everything Gazprom does has a quality label on it. Today, the Gas Forum is in the Top 3 of the major gas events of the world. One day, it will be global project Number One. The record-breaking results obtained in 2024 leave no room for doubt about that,” said Sergey Voronkov, CEO of ExpoForum International and President of the Russian Union of Exhibitions and Fairs. Further, he invited the participants to attend the next Forum scheduled for 2025.

SPIGF 2024 was powered by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation and the Government of St. Petersburg.

 

The coorganisers of the SPIGF 2024 convention program: Gazprom, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation, State Council of the Russian Federation working in the area of Energy, Gazprom Mezhregiongaz, Gazprombank (Joint Stock Company), Media Miry, Gas Industry Magazine, T1 Holding, COMITA Group, Gazprom UGS, Gazprom Transgaz Belarus, Russian Gas Society Union of Oil & Gas Producers of Russia, National Oil and Gas Forum, Institute of Oil and Gas Technology Initiatives, 1C Company, TEK Torg, Hydrogen Energy Committee of the CIS Business Center and B1 Group.

 

SPIGF 2024 general partner: Gazprom.

 

General sponsor: TMK. 

 

Industrial partner: Almaz – Antey Air and Space Defence Corporation.

 

SPIGF 2024 partners: Ural Steel Group, Gazprombank (Joint Stock Company), COMITA Group, Rossiya Bank, HMS Group, United Metallurgical Company, Salavat Catalyst Plant, Gazprom GNP Holding, United Engine Corporation, RUMO, Rosatom State Corporation, FracJet-Volga, Gazprom ID Operator, Bunter Group, Norrexim RUS, T1 Holding, Gazstroyprom, NPK Morsvyazavtomatica, Technoavia – St. Petersburg, GT Energo, RNG Engineering, Polycell Scientific and Production Association, Tyazhpressmash Group, Gazprom CPS, Legenda Intelligent Development, Zenit Football Club
and the National Oil and Gas Forum.

 

Telecommunication partner: Rostelecom.

Official insurance partner: SOGAZ.

Gala dinner partner: Winline.

Style partner: Indever menswear studio.

Cultural program partner: Imperial Porcelain Manufactory.

Organisation partners: Karelian mineral water plant; Specialty RU.

Official translating company: Voice of the World translation agency.

General information partners: Territoriya NEFTEGAS and Gas Industry magazines.

General industrial information partner: Neftegaz.ru. 

General industrial media partner: Sphere. Oil & Gas magazine.

Strategic information partner: Exposition Oil Gas magazine.

Official industrial information partner: Power and Industry of Russia newspaper.

Official industrial media partner: Oil and Gas Industry magazine.

Publisher of SPIGF Show Daily official newspaper: United Industrial Publishers.

Official restaurants: Lamb, Palkin, Stroganoff Steak House, Magadan, Syrovarnya.

Organiser: ExpoForum International.

Exhibition program co-organisers: FAREXPO and RESTEC.

New challenges and opportunities for the Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry were analyzed by the market participants at the DEVELOPMENT PROSPECTS FOR THE RUSSIAN LNG SECTOR IN TODAY’S ECONOMIC REALITY session, which took place on October 9 in ExpoForum during the St. Petersburg International Gas Forum 2024.

According to Kept consulting company, the global LNG market brings together 20 manufacturing companies and 51 consuming companies, and it is one of the most dynamic energy markets in the world. LNG consumption across the globe is increasing faster than of natural gas in general. From 2010 to 2023, it rose up by 80%, which is about 15% from the global consumption of gas, whereas natural gas consumption increased by 27%.

“In the conditions of uncertainty, the LNG market is one of the most dynamically developing markets in the world,” said Maxim Malkov, Ph. D. in Economics, Partner and Head of Oil & Gas at Kept Consulting Company.

As reported by Kept, as long as conservative evaluation methods are used, new facilities capable of 120+ bln cubic meters can be introduced by 2030. “The forming new structure of the global LNG market encompasses both new challenges and unevident possibilities for Russian manufacturers,” Mr. Malkov stated.

In the current situation, major plans for LNG market development can get offset because of technological restrictions. “I am absolutely positive that technology-related issues will be solved, but it will take time. The LNG market is not about countries — it is about companies who are developing new strategies, and every 6 months of delay complicate reaching out for this market. Right now, it is time to establish a system of global network structures of our own, as we will have to sell LNG we’ve produced,” mentioned Stanislav Zhukov, D. Sc. in Economics, Associate of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Deputy Director for Research at the Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

“Indeed, Russia lacks technological opportunities. We have to deal with the sanctions and either take the path other countries covered in 20 to 30 years but do it in our own way, or use the technologies that are unverified and untested. Both options seem to be inadvisable. That’s why we should not only look to the external market, but also concentrate on the potential growth point at the local gas market, which are oil and gas conversion, and gas engine vehicles (GEV). Today, the GEV market capacity reaches about 10%, which is unduly low. It can be 30%,” said Sergey Romanov, D. Sc. of Economics, Professor, and Deputy CEO of the Russian Energy Agency associated with the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation.

Kept analyzed prospects of LNG industry development and discovered that it can follow two vectors — the offshore and the continental ones. As far as the offshore strategy is regarded, it is about dealing with the technological gap and successful competition with overseas manufacturers, which seems to be extremely challenging at the current stage. On the other hand, the continental strategy is a brand new one, which includes formation and development of the new market of low-capacity LNG in Eurasia. The key contributory factor is high potential of gas mining in Russia, as well as availability of technologies and competences of our own (we have such factories that are operated effectively), plus high potential of gas demand growth in the Eurasian countries.

“I don’t think we are going to make it into the on-going spree of the world’s LNG sector extension, but if we prepare our technologies and resource base, we can enter the next one, and do it powerfully and finely,” concluded Nikita Illeritsky, Ph. D. in Economy, Expert in Development of the Services for Oil and Gas Companies at Kept Consulting Company.

Innovations based on scientific projects, up-to-date issues of marine transportation development, including lithium compounds delivery, assimilation of global by-product lithium mining technologies and methods, and global collaborations – these were the questions discussed by the participants of the Russia – Latin America Dialogue LITHIUM MARKET: ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGICAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR COLLABORATION EXTENSION, the event that took place as part of the St. Petersburg International Gas Forum in ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Having opened the event, Evgeny Grigoryev, Member of the St. Petersburg Government and Chairman of External Affairs Committee of St. Petersburg invited the attention of the participants to the high potential for development of good relations between the city and its partners from Latin America.

Head of G.O.R.K.I. Centre Karin Kneissl, who is also the Expert Analyst in Energy, a teacher, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Republic of Austria (2017 through 2019) explained that lithium has a significant role in sustainable development and highlighted its importance in import substitution of rechargeable batteries and for technological independence, too. Mrs. Kneissl also spoke about financial and ecological issues related to green energy, and first of all about high costs associated with the infrastructure maintenance, technologies, and stock materials. At the moment, rechargeable batteries are the only solution available for storage of electric energy produced by means of solar and wind electric power stations.

Besides, Mrs. Kneissl offered a piece of advice to her young colleagues – “You should strive for excellence. Don’t be afraid to delve deeper. I can see certain changes in the Russian academic environment, and these are changes for the better. Work in, endeavor at perfection, keep exploring your area of focus. As an employer and as a teacher, I’ve noticed that young people don’t have deep knowledge today – they are more about smattering. Number Two – don’t seek employment, don’t pursue a career. Try to find your calling by going with your feelings,” the Ex Foreign Affairs Minister of Austria suggested.

Vitaly Stepanishchev, the CEO of Russia – Latin America Business Centre showcased strategic initiatives undertaken by the Centre in collaboration with the Russian and Latin American companies, including from Bolivia. Alongside with Argentina and Chile, Bolivia possesses the largest lithium deposits in the world. According to the analysts, these countries possess 23, 14, and 24 percent of world stock correspondingly. In his report, Mr. Stepanishchev concentrated on the tasks these states have to solve and their possible solutions.

Oleg Prekrasnov, the Adviser to the Chief Executive Officer of the Russia – Latin America Business Center and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Lenecotrade moderated the meeting. Throughout the discussion, he supported and elaborated the issue of possible Russia – Latin America collaboration extension. In particular, Mr. Prekrasnov mentioned that in summer 2024 Luis Arce, Ex President of Bolivia, was awarded the honorary decree as a Doctor of Science by the St. Petersburg State University. 

Grigory Boyarko, D. Sc. of Economics and Professor of the Tomsk Polytechnic University, gave a talk about lithium mining prospects.

Artem Fomkin, the Head of the Innovative Development Department at Zarubezhneft, D. Sc. in Engineering, and Acting Member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences revealed the synergy between the oil-gas and traditional technologies used for lithium mining.

Karina Argvliani, a representative of BRICS & SCO Innovative Diplomacy Centre outlined that lithium is essential in terms of the global policy. She explained that the global community is at risk for neocolonial dependence, which contradicts fundamental guidelines followed by BRICS, namely multipolarity and equality.

Moreover, supported both offline and online attendance – besides the participants who came to ExpoForum in person, there were online reports made by the parties from abroad.

Guillermo Daniel Ortega Reyes, Deputy Chairman of the Central American Parliament (President of the Parliament in 2021 through 2022) addressed the Forum participants.

Pavel Dorokhin, Victor Sheremetker, and Vitaly Kondratenko, Trade Representatives of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Peru, Brazil and Argentina gave a detailed report on the situation in those countries and assured the listeners that Latin America can’t wait for Russian businesses to arrive. The special focus was on collaborations between Russian and Latin American Businesses, as well as cooperation extension prospects.

Ekaterina Bertran, Director of Operation at Europartner in Rio de Janeiro explained how Russian companies are getting to the Brazilian market.

The closing remarks at the conference included an expectation that this event could become the point of departure for further extension of Russia – Latin America relations.