Neftisa Uses AI to Expand Its Oil Reserves
Algorithms are helping the company discover new deposits in areas that have already been extensively explored.
Artificial intelligence helped Neftisa add more than 10 million metric tons of oil reserves in 2026, said Andrey Zarubin, head of Neftisa.
The algorithms are significantly improving the efficiency of investment in exploration. AI is helping identify previously overlooked deposits in areas long considered fully explored. In the Ural-Volga region, AI has been finding missed deposits for the second consecutive year. In Western Siberia, neural networks manage water injection at all of the company’s oil fields. In 2025, new technologies accounted for up to 20% of total oil production. The company expects that share to rise to 50% in 2027. Meanwhile, operational efficiency per well has doubled.
Neftisa was founded in 2008. The company currently explores for and produces hydrocarbons in the Samara, Novosibirsk and Tyumen regions, the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area, Perm Krai, Udmurtia and the Komi Republic. Its annual oil production totals about 6.5 million metric tons. To assess its oil fields, Neftisa combines data from 2D and 3D seismic surveys with results from exploration drilling.
