The Educational and Production Center of the Geophysical Division of the “TAGRAS” Holding has opened at the IGPT KFU

The Geological Center equipped with a classroom has been established at the Institute of Geology and Petroleum Technologies of Kazan Federal University to address scientific, educational, and production tasks.

At the grand opening of the center, the delegation from the Russian oil service group was led by the CEO of TAGRAS, Lenar Nazipov. The CEO of LLC “TNG-Group,” Yan Sharipov, and top managers from the Holding and divisions also participated in the opening ceremony. From KFU, the opening of the Geological Center was attended by the Vice-Rector for Petroleum Technologies, Environmental Management, and Earth Sciences, Director of the Institute of Geology and Petroleum Technologies at Kazan Federal University, Danis Nurgaliev, the project leader for the establishment of the Geological Center at KFU, Deputy Director for Marketing, Director of the Center for Advanced Training, Quality Management, and Marketing (CdoGEO), Ildus Chukmarov, and others.

The Geological Center was established in collaboration with LLC “TNG-Group”, one of the leading Russian oil service companies, the geophysical division of the TAGRAS Holding. As emphasized by the Vice-Rector for Petroleum Technologies, Environmental Management, and Earth Sciences, and Director of the Institute of Geology and Petroleum Technologies at Kazan Federal University, Danis Nurgaliev, the geophysical division of the TAGRAS Holding has been a long-standing partner of KFU. For example, “TNG-Group” provides internships and job opportunities for a large number of students from the Institute of Geology and Petroleum Technologies.

“The main goal of universities is to prepare high-quality specialists,” says Danis Karlovich. “In the Geological Center, employees of ‘TNG-Group’ will teach students (future colleagues) seismic data processing on a real data. Thus, the center will become a powerful talent pool where students can learn seismic techniques at a professional level in 2-3 years instead of 10 years.”

The Geological Center is equipped with computers, workstations, an interactive whiteboard, and large scale screens for video conferencing.

Highlighting the importance of the opening of the Geological Center, Lenar Nazipov noted that this collaboration involves working with one of the best universities in Russia.

“We have been collaborating with Kazan University for a long time. While our previous interactions were primarily related to the preparation of a target group, our current goal is to have students ready to implement real projects during their education,” he emphasized.

Lenar Nazipov added that since the partnership with Kazan Federal University is already well-established, the integration process will now be more intensive.

Yan Sharipov emphasized that the company has a high demand for skilled professionals.

“We have been collaborating with KFU for a long time. The majority of our workforce consists of university graduates. However, today, we have a need to accelerate the training of specialists, so we are getting closer to the university to establish systematic collaboration. Today, we are taking the first step in accelerating the training of seismic data processing specialists and seismic data interpreters. There is a tremendous challenge in preparing professionals at the level of party leaders, technical supervisors for exploration work, and we need well-log analysts. Today, specialists are entering professional work within three to four months after starting their jobs. We must minimize the time it takes to integrate specialists into production activities,” summarized Yan Sharipov.

According to the project curator from LLC “TNG-Group,” Deputy Chief Geologist Igor Ustimov, the Geological Center will not only serve educational purposes but also scientific and production tasks.

“The collaboration, involving the university’s laboratory and technical facilities on one side, and the company’s experience and experts on the other, will help us implement unconventional scientific and production projects that will be of interest to users,” he said.

Ildus Chukmarov, speaking about the importance of opening the Geological Center, noted that before its establishment, they discussed prospects for cooperation with TAGRAS Holding companies: “First, we proposed integrating their capabilities into the company’s internal employee assessment and development system. Second, we invited participation in advanced training courses and professional retraining, with individual trajectories tailored to the most relevant fields: geology, oil and gas field development, geophysics, metrology, and more. Third, we discussed the possibility of jointly creating video lessons for their students, learners, and clients on the Institute of Geology and Petroleum Technologies KFU YouTube channel. Fourth, we suggested initiating joint development of a Combined Integrated Digital Oilfield Simulator Trainer. Our proposals generated interest, so we sent them to the company in written form. Undoubtedly, collaboration with TAGRAS Holding companies will expand, and one of the key directions in this area is the opening of the Geological Center.”

It’s worth noting that the Institute of Geology and Petroleum Technologies at KFU successfully establishes branded zones and collaborates with partners to create modern laboratories and well-equipped classrooms for students and faculty. One of the early examples of such collaboration was the opening of the “Oil and Gas Disciplines Classroom” in partnership with NPF “Packer.” In 2022, as part of cooperation with PJSC “Gazprom Neft,” the Digital Twin Modeling Laboratory was launched, where students are integrated into the work process of the “Gazprom Neft” R&D center. In the near future, the Interdisciplinary Educational Laboratory “Petrophysics and Reservoir Physics” of PJSC “NK Rosneft” will be opened.

Implementation of such large-scale projects opens up significant opportunities for our students and faculty!