Gazprom Neft partnership developing Russia's first integrated IT platform for seismic data

Multiple programs are required in delivering the individual applications used in seismic investigations. Significant costs are involved in uploading and adapting data for various versions of software. A universal system for managing seismic data in a common data (IT) environment is virtually non-existent. This new development is expected to bring together those (currently individual) modules and algorithms used in implementing any one project — data collation and updating, processing control, the interpretation and analysis of results, and forecasting of strata characteristics — into a single inclusive platform. Gazprom Neft, in cooperation with Yandex Terra and Pangea, as well as leading representatives from the major sciences, is developing software that will be able to address a range of tasks, from selecting promising sites and interpreting data to putting forward ideas for seismic modelling. The prototype will, ultimately, be supplemented with algorithms for processing “Big Data”, and for decision making.

Work on developing the algorithms necessary for the platform to work has involved determining the necessary computational resources, testing currently available programms, and putting together a list of those modules that need to be developed. The platform will allow the geological and seismic conditions of various regions throughout Russia to be analysed.

The development of new software products is being undertaken as part of Gazprom Neft’s “Electronic Asset Development” (ERA) IT project-development strategy, covering all of the company’s key activities: geological prospecting, drilling, exploration and production, and field development. Work on the ERA strategy, a key area of focus under the company’s Technology Strategy, is being undertaken with the support of specialists from the Gazprom Neft Science and Technology Centre.

Mars Khasanov, CEO of the Gazprom Neft Science and Technology Centre, commented: “Digitalization is integral to the operations of a modern company. We have, already, developed a digital ecosystem that covers every aspect of our work — from geology and extraction, to the process of disseminating knowledge within the company. Our priority is to develop electronic advisers, cognitive assistants who will process information and carry out calculations in order to provide engineers with pre-prepared solutions for further action. Cooperation with Yandex Terra and other Gazprom Neft partners will allow us to expand our capabilities in creating new IT products and continue the implementation of our Electronic Asset Development (ERA) project.”