On October 5, the 7th St. Petersburg International Gas Forum ran a meeting of the Youth Council of the Oil and Gas Industry under the Ministry of Energy of Russia.

Director of the Department of Civil Service and Mobilization Training of the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation Vladimir Smirnov thanked the council members for their activity and remarked that the results of its work are highly appreciated by the department.

"Vladimir Putin spoke yesterday at the Russian Energy Week in Moscow. He said that our industry has achieved great progress. I would like to wish the youth council to become a coordinating centre fostering the growth of the industry", – he said.

President of the Union of Oil and Gas Producers of Russia, Chairman of the Council of Veterans at the Ministry of Energy of Russia, Gennady Shmal instructed young colleagues and reminded them of the history of the industry:"The largest project in the history of our country is the creation of the West Siberian oil and gas complex with no existing or future project equal to it. Young people played the main role in its creation".

According to the expert, in the early 1960s there were no more than 1 million people living in the Tyumen region. Today there are 17 cities and 3.5 million people.

"There were interesting forms of work – for example, student construction teams. This was the way to come to terms with social and personnel issues. Today, this is not an adequate solution as there is no public movement today. Conferences of young scientists and specialists were often held. Today the creation and work of the Youth Council under the Ministry is an effective and stimulating decision, since the key issue of the oil and gas industry is attracting young professionals. One of the main objectives is to bring up genuine patriots of Russia, to earn back the respect for the profession, which was once valued on a par with miners and cosmonauts ", – said Mr. Shmal.

Representatives of the Youth Council and the Council of Veterans agreed to hold a joint meeting in April 2018 at the National Oil and Gas Forum in Moscow.

During the meeting, the members of the Youth Council reported on the activities of 2017, summed up the interim results of the work, spoke about the results of cooperation with universities in gathering research data for a catalog, and also focused on the experience of cooperation between universities and companies in R&D and other projects.