At the end of April 2022, St. Petersburg hosted the 10th Russian International Energy Forum (RIEF). The Forum included a presentation day attended by heads and senior specialists of the Energy Department of the Exploration and Production Unit (E&P) of Gazprom Neft, chief power engineers, electrical safety division managers of subsidiaries, and chief production engineers of energy service companies. A total of about 150 people took part in the event.

The participants were welcomed by Pavel Berezny, Head of the Energy Department of Gazprom Neft E&P, who stressed that Gazprom Neft was open for communication and ready to consider and discuss all proposals from companies developing their own products and technologies.

The leading idea of the Forum was to discuss innovative equipment and technologies for power facilities in the oil and gas industry. The discussions were aimed at identifying the best technical and technological solutions to deliver the greatest benefits at Gazprom Neft facilities. The topic was suggested by the oil company's experts and reflected its current equipment needs.

Aleksandr Guriev, head of the digital technology group, gave a presentation on behalf of EKRA. He focused his presentation on the prospects for advanced technologies in the power industry and the experience of implementing relay protection and control & automation systems for power facilities based on the “digital substation” architecture. He also elaborated on technical solutions for protection and automation systems, risks of digital technology development in the light of geopolitical events, and possibilities of applying automation protocols in the context of component supply constraints.

At the Power and Electrical Engineering Exhibition at the RIEF, the forum participants learned about practical implementation of the solutions presented.