Closure Interview: Sergey Chizhikov, CEO, Ingenix Group

Please describe your position and role within the company  

Since the establishment of the company within Gazprombank Group in 2009, I have been the CEO responsible as for the daily company’s activities and for the development of Ingenix Group’s business.

Ingenix Group is a relatively young company created in 2009. Please, describe the company’s history shortly and how has business been over the last 4.5 years? How do you see growth for Ingenix Group developing in the coming years?

Throughout the past years Ingenix Group has completed dozens of projects, such as cost-engineering and modeling, due diligence surveys of companies, as well as technical audits in the Russian oil&gas upstream sector. The team has grown almost 3 fold, up from 25 to 70 experts in geology, geophysics, field management, construction, and financial management. We’ve gained great experience and improved our standards both in integrated expertise assessments and in specific assignments from big oil and gas corporations, as well as from small and mid-scale companies. Our Integrated approach gives us the ability to provide our clients with the relevant information for decision-making and ready-to-use solutions based on the best practices for competitive advantages. We plan to uphold our market position by increasing our presence in the market and diversifying the business of Gazprombank in this direction.

Tell us about a recent success story Ingenix Group have had.

A combination of knowledge and skills of our experts in the field of oil and gas construction and economic assessment led us to the development of a software solution for modeling the cost of construction and evaluation of upstream development in a lifecycle perspective. The Ingenix Cost Manager software has received a positive feedback from analysts and construction managers from many Russian companies. This reflects the large demand in cost benchmarking using modeling tools where the structure of Russian “smetas” (cost estimate statements) and the Western approach to cost engineering converge will be adapted.

With a number of companies offering upstream consultancy services, what benefits does the client get by choosing Ingenix Group as a partner?

By addressing Ingenix Group any client will receive a professional consultancy from our  industry experts – from geology to economics, from small tasks to complex challenges, from exploration to pipeline construction. We pay special attention to knowledge and experience but tend not to get “frozen” within standardized approaches.

We are constantly hearing that both Offshore Russia and the Russian unconventional sectors will be key areas of growth in the future. Is Ingenix Group geared to work in these areas?

These sectors are very young in Russia now, the Ingenix Group is going to grow with this sector, accumulating the necessary expertise in such areas.

Whilst most of your business is Russian based, Ingenix Group have also participated in G&G surveys in Algeria. Do you have any future plans for international expansion?

The Algerian project is unique and has a narrow focus. We are not working out any special plans for expansion overseas at the moment. We try to be realistic and use our current advantages, which mainly reside within the Russian oil&gas industry.

How do you see the Russian O&G consulting & expertise markets developing over the next 2 years?

We see that big oil&gas companies in Russia are moving to the establishment of their own centers for providing technical expertise to support sensitive management decisions such as reserves evaluation, well log analysis, etc. At the same time all independent service providers tend to be more flexible in order to satisfy the needs of small and mid-scale players. This makes the market more competitive.

What does Ingenix Group do in order to feel the pulse of the market and keep in line with trends?  

Ingenix Group actively participates in the life of the professional societies of Russia. Our leading experts  place scientific articles in industrial magazines, deliver reports in conferences, and organize Ingenix Group’s own events which have become important dates in the calendars of our colleagues. This year we will run the 3rd Round Table on Oil&Gas Cost Estimation in Russia (17th of June, Moscow), where leading experts in the industry will speak on the international standards in cost modeling and their applicability in Russia. Even earlier, in May, our geologists and geophysicists will report on their approaches to the handling the assessment uncertainties of the reserves in Kaliningrad within the EAGO Conference (Euro-Asian Geological Society). We believe that our active participation in the industrial market and exchange of knowledge will help Ingenix Group to successfully develop its presence in the market and remain at the cutting edge of the progress.