Gazprom Neft Creates an Accelerator for Upstream Startups

Gazprom Neft will launch an acceleration program to support technology start-ups and solutions in hydrocarbon exploration and production, Industry 4.0, capital construction and alternative energy. On May 24, at the international technology conference Startup Village, Alexey Vashkevich, Director for Technological Development of Gazprom Neft, spoke about the new direction in the company’s work.

Gazprom Neft plans to attract developers and projects in more than 70 areas. Participants will have to go through several stages of assessment and selection, the result of which will be the identification of the most promising projects. Startups will receive expert assistance from Gazprom Neft and the company’s partners, as well as acquire knowledge and skills to develop and replicate their developments on the open market. Program participants will be able to conduct pilot tests of their technologies at the facilities of Gazprom Neft subsidiaries and integrate them into the company’s technological and operational processes. The final of the program will be the selection of projects that will be presented during demo days with the participation of potential investors.

The selected projects will be able to apply for targeted funding, including from the New Industry Venture Fund (New Industry Ventures – a joint venture fund of Gazprom Neft, Gazprombank, Russian Venture Company (RVC) and VEB Ventures).

The corporate accelerator will become one of the tools for solving technological challenges facing Gazprom Neft. On the part of the company, the project will be supervised by Gazpromneft – Technological Partnerships. The operator of the acceleration program will be the Skolkovo Foundation, which has experience in accelerating projects in the oil and gas sector.

“Technological leadership is one of the strategic goals of Gazprom Neft. We strive to accumulate the most promising ideas and know-how that can be applied in our industry. Moreover, we want to use them not only independently, but also to offer them to the market, scale them up – in the interests of the entire oil and gas industry. We are close to the idea of ​​open innovation, which involves the combination of experience, resources and intellectual potential. Therefore, our task is to form the widest possible circle of potential participants, giving them the opportunity to realize their ideas and develop together with us. “

Alexey Vashkevich Director for Technological Development, Gazprom Neft