Exhibits brought from the Russian regions and Belarus clearly prove that import substitution is not just a collocation but a continuous project that has gained momentum throughout the years.
It looks like the new sanctions and geopolitical turbulence helped to find independent solutions and technologies of our own.
At the collaborative stand of the Astrakhan Region and Gazprom Dobycha Astrakhan, the visitors of SPIGF 2023 were offered a VR tour around the Astrakhan-based gas condensate field. They were able to see its territory and the well, the preliminary gas processing terminal, and even travel 4,000 metres under the ground. However, this wasn’t the only high-tech mutlimedia exhibit. Next door, Gazprom Dobycha Astrakhan arranged an interactive holographic system. Inside a rectangular block, an angle choke valve was located with animated explanations blinking around it. The citizens of Astrakhan skillfully connected high-tech solutions with their gastronomic traditions and found a spot to showcase the local razorfish, voblas, and watermelons.
RC Engineering presented a technology that protects metal from corrosion and enables restoration of elements. Protection technologies were also demonstrated by BT SVAP – their exhibits were pieces of pipes with protective coating.
System of Objective Control from Astrakhan displayed several unmanned aerial vehicles from their assortment range, including a UAV of their own design called BAS SOK 1. It can be assembled in 10 minutes and is capable of flying up to 100 km with one battery set and an effective load up to 3 kg. As stated by the company representatives, UAVs are often used in the gas sector for mapping, surveillance, 3D modelling, and leakage discovery purposes.
One of the most remarkable stands was arranged by representatives from Belarus in collaboration with Gazprom Transgaz Belarus. Their log-house-like office with a kind of a lawn and moving animals was in perfect contrast with the Yastreb (Hawk) gyrocopter they exhibited.
Products by Peleng looked quite outstanding among the variety of engineering premiers and technical companies. This company produces science-driven hardware, like their aviation methane detector that can be installed on UAVs and pilot aircrafts. This device can scan the ground surface with a laser ray to find leakages and is unique as it doesn’t contain any imported components.
At the stand of the Penza Region arranged with the assistance of the Export Support Centre there was a miniature oil and gas separator. This piece of equipment is used for degasation and purification of natural gas, as well as for dewatering of associated oil gas. PenzEnergoMash Plant, which manufactures tanks of any complexity to order, brought a model of their product. Their co-standers from Compressor Machines, a manufacturer of compressors and heat exchangers, delivered to SPIGF 2023 a nitrogen production station.
The stand of the Perm Territory turned out to be one of the richest in exhibits. TIK R&D Company put an American system in the Passage of the Expoforum next to its equivalent of their own design. ‘Our company designs and produces monitoring and emergency protection systems for industrial equipment. TIK is one of the first companies to persistently attend to import substitution matters – they’ve been working on it for 10+ years. Today, we are favorably competing with the best companies of the world (in the sector we’re working in, of course) and dynamically introducing our products and solutions in the most large-scale Russian projects. At our stand, you can see the American Bently Nevada 3500 and our TIK-RVM. We are demonstrating the functional capacities of both systems and show how they can be integrated and used to replace each other,’ said Artem Klochkov, Development Director.
ELKA Cable, whose stand is located in the vicinity of TIK, are also following the import substitution trend. They are looking for Russian manufacturers and help them to switch to Russian-only feedstock and go 100% local. The company’s representatives announced that they have got a series of unique cables made of thermocorrosion-resistant alloy, which can help with prime cost reduction thanks to their lightness and durability.
One of the most eye-catching exhibits from the Perm Territory was the rotating pipe string by Motovilikha Plants. This company implements the complete steel production cycle, which includes all kinds of metal conversion. They also make equipment for oil mining and drilling.
The stand by the Republic of Tatarstan offered a wide range and an extensive variety of devices. There was a floor-standing boiler by FED with a remote control option, LNG-operated vessel models by the Russian Ak-Bars Holding Company, a product series of Russia-made PC by ICL – an all-in-one PC, a laptop, and even a slim client, which was sized as a block of notes. All of the production facilities are located in Russia, and the unique insights and solutions are often proposed by the customers. For instance, the all-in-one PC exhibited at SPIGF was specially designed for the Moscow IT Department. The state officials from the Russian capital wanted all the connection terminals to be located at the front panel of the PC, not on its sides or its back panel, as they usually are.
Near the electronic devices, Gazprom Transgaz Kazan showcased its pipe of a 2-stage gas injector used for natural gas evacuation from compressor station equipment. Thanks to its design (and the laws of physics) it is capable of cutting down the gas loss down to 85% whenever gas pumping station is shutdown. The injector was made on the order of Gazprom by the Kazan Aviation Institute and introduced at the Arskaya Compressor Station (the Saby District, Tatarstan).
Innopolis University presented two of its projects at once. Using their SG 13 earthquake activity registration device, it is easy to specify the direction of a fracture formed during hydraulic fracturing.
Side by side with it, there is a model of a tweendeck designed to inspect underwater pipeline joints. It is equipped with a robotic device capable of detecting fractures in the bottom soils, as well as leakages. Remarkably, companies from St. Petersburg and Moscow took part in the design. The vessel is intended to be serially manufactured on the order of Gazprom.
The Chelyabinsk Region brought its exhibits, too. The most rewarding one must be the project by the Ozersk Electric Equipment Plant – the gas microturbine that has recently been commissioned by Gazprom. It is capable of 16 kW, which is enough to feed a three-storey building, a little agrofarm, or a communication station. ‘As soon as gas is supplied, it ignites, expands, and starts to rotate the turbine wheel. Rotational motion is passed to the generator and converted into electric energy,’ Vladimir Belyakov, CTO of the Ozersk Plant explained. ‘We demonstrated our prototype before the testing at the previous exhibition. An official from the administrative office of Dagestan visited our stand and said that they did need that thing for their mountain villages. They have severe natural conditions there, and their power transmission lines keep breaking and falling down. It takes time to restore them, but such a unit would solve the problem.’
The issue of the climate severity in Chelyabinsk was also brought up at the cryogenic testing stand. There, they exhibited the axial check valve and fittings that can be operated in cryogenic environment at the temperature down to minus 196°C.