Digital Technologies Add More Than 4 Million Tons to Gazprom Neft Reserves
Gazprom Neft specialists have identified two new accumulations at fields in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug – Yugra using Russian digital subsurface data processing tools. Total reserves exceed 4 million tons.
Work is underway at the Yuzhno-Priobskoye and Orekhovo-Ermakovskoye fields. A digital system analyzed data covering the full exploration and development history of these mature assets and helped identify prospective reservoirs at a depth of about 3 kilometers.
Oil Saturation Confirmed
Initial wells have already confirmed oil saturation. At the Orekhovo-Ermakovskoye site, daily production reached 90 tons, and at Yuzhno-Priobskoye 100 tons per day.
Modern digital technologies make it possible to identify additional reserves where conventional analysis methods no longer deliver results. Importantly, infrastructure is already in place at these newly identified reservoirs. For more than seven years, digital tools have helped expand oil and gas reserves at both new and producing fields.
The Evolution of Digital Exploration Tools
This case shows how domestic digital solutions improve exploration efficiency, accelerate data interpretation, and reduce blind drilling. It is not Gazprom Neft’s first successful deployment. The company has deployed platforms such as Kognitivny geolog (Cognitive Geologist), digital twins, and systems where AI processes and interprets up to 98% of geological data. In 2023, the Tsifrovoy dvoynik seysmorazvedki (Seismic Exploration Digital Twin) was named one of Russia’s top innovation products.
Back in 2019, the company’s Scientific and Technical Center developed ERA:ProAktiv, an integrated IT system for comprehensive analysis of hydrocarbon reserves. Its algorithms rapidly evaluated proven reserves and forecast the development of both existing and new assets, accounting for multiple variables. The system automated up to 90% of routine reserve analysis tasks.
Gazprom Neft’s resource base includes data from thousands of studies dating back to 1981, covering reserve volumes, geological characteristics, and the physical and chemical properties of oil and gas. ERA:ProAktiv optimized the resource base and is used to shape its development strategy.
Based on integrated production forecasts and the current state of the resource base, the algorithms defined a balanced approach to reserve replacement, production maintenance, and long-term growth. Geologists, reservoir engineers, economists, and asset managers, as well as government stakeholders, used the system in their workflows. The platform can be adapted to any dataset, including national-level databases.
Saint Petersburg State University co-developed the solution. The software and its trademark are registered with the Federal Service for Intellectual Property. This is the first industry solution that provides a dynamic, real-time view of the company’s entire resource base.
Digitalization as a Production Growth Driver
Russian experts highlight the potential to scale proven digital assets across fields in other oil and gas regions. Gazprom Neft already operates a portfolio of related solutions, including field digital twins, the seismic digital twin, AI for well design, and a subsurface analysis platform developed jointly with Innopolis University.
Major Russian oil companies have been moving geology and production into model-driven analytical environments for several years. In 2021, LUKOIL announced the launch of an integrated model for the Vatyeganskoye field, the largest in Russia. In 2025, the company launched its “digital core” technology, which runs multiple scenarios and accelerates the selection of enhanced oil recovery methods.
Also in 2021, Gazprom Neft reported that a digital twin of the eastern section of the Orenburg field could add more than 800,000 tons of oil and 1.3 billion cubic meters of gas.
Digital transformation in the oil and gas sector is driving growth in both reserves and production. Companies that improve performance at mature and complex fields gain new competitive advantages. Globally, the industry is shifting core processes – from geology to drilling – into digital environments.
