St Petersburg University and Gazprom Neft launch new academic programme for engineering economists

The non-degree programme is designed to train engineering economists primarily for further employment in the oil and gas industry. The programme will be of particular interest to graduates of the following areas of study: economics; petroleum engineering; mathematics; and physics. The programme started on 20 April and will run until 30 September. 

"Focusing on the training needs of key industries is one of the priorities of our academic programmes. The oil and gas industry is one of the areas in which St Petersburg University actively cooperates, solving the tasks of training specialists to meet the most modern requirements. Opening a non-degree programme in such an important and relevant field is a logical step for our University," said Marina Lavrikova, Senior Vice-Rector for Academic Activities at St Petersburg University, at the opening ceremony of the training programme. 

During the training, students will do an intensive practical course on economics and investment in the oil and gas industry, petroleum engineering for economists, and digital and analytical tools from Gazprom Neft Group’s best practitioners. They will also be immersed in real business tasks and conditions. 

"Our aim is to open such a programme so that it is filled with knowledge of economics, geology and digital technology. An engineer who graduates from our programme will be able to work with analytics and databases, and thanks to contacts with our technology partner, will be able to go straight into production mode. I hope that the skills acquired will contribute to the growth of our students, Gazprom Neft and the University," said Vyacheslav Polovkov, Director of the Advanced Engineering School at St Petersburg University. 

The programme consists of four well-balanced modules, ranging from an introduction to economics to management skills. At the same time, 70% of the training is practical, with a total of 350 classroom academic hours. 

Graduates who successfully complete their studies will be hired by Gazprom Neft Group and start performing professional tasks with zero adaptation period.

The Advanced Engineering School ‘Interdisciplinary Research, Technologies and Business Processes for the Mineral Resources and Raw Materials Sector of Russia’ was established at St Petersburg University in 2024. Its main goal is to produce well-educated and highly-skilled engineers whose achievements will help develop Russia’s technological sovereignty and, in partnership with high-tech companies, create new products and technological solutions for the raw materials sector. 

Currently, the Laboratory of Geochemical Analysis of Petroleum is operating within the Advanced Engineering School at St Petersburg University. The laboratory is equipped with modern analytical equipment for conducting studies on composition of petroleum products and formation water. These studies allow for solving a number of practical tasks: analysis and forecast assessment of hydrocarbon accumulations and their physical and chemical properties; identification of causes and forecasting of zones of reservoir bituminisation; obtaining quantitative targeted oil inflow from each reservoir during joint exploitation of reservoirs; and others. The control technologies under development are based on domestic analytical equipment and advancements in geochemical analysis of oil and produced water, and analysis and modernisation of existing research methods. 

The Advanced Engineering School also has other laboratories that conduct research in the field of applied geophysics and sedimentology of carbonate reservoirs, and engineering and economic modelling.