Gazprom Reaps Rewards from Localisation Drive

Efforts by Russia’s Gazprom to substitute imported equipment with domestic supplies between 2016 and 2018 resulted in an economic gain of rubles 20.7bn ($3.2bn), the company reported on November 14.

During the period, Russian companies invested rub 17.8bn in developing and producing goods for supply to Gazprom under long-term contracts, it added.

“A prominent result of the steps taken is the creation of the first domestic equipment prototype for subsea hydrocarbon production systems,” Gazprom said. It worked with the industry ministry, research institutes and machine-building enterprises to develop this range of equipment.

Offshore exploration and production has been identified as one of the areas where Russia’s oil and gas industry is most reliant on foreign equipment. The problem is acute in the offshore Arctic, where Western firms are restricted from providing equipment to projects under US and EU sanctions.