Digital Fracture Mapping from TNG-IT
TNG-IT is developing FractPoint, a system for microseismic monitoring of hydraulic fracturing (HF). The software automates the processing and interpretation of geophysical data directly during field operations.
The system receives data in near-real time by integrating with equipment telemetry. TNG-IT, part of TNG-Group, is shifting the operating model from reactive to proactive. There is no longer a need to wait until an operation is complete before processing gigabytes of data post factum. Instead, everything happens here and now. Immediately after the fluid injection stage, the algorithms assess the geometry of fractures formed in the formation, allowing subsequent operations to be adjusted.
Microseismic signals are generated by vibrations that occur as rock fractures under hydraulic pressure. By detecting their sources, the algorithms build a 3D model of the fractured zone. The results are correlated with the injection schedule, pressure parameters and fluid rate. The product’s key task is to give geologists and engineers the ability to adjust subsequent stages after the injection stage. For example, if the model shows that a fracture has entered a water-bearing zone or propagated toward a neighboring well – in other words, moved in the wrong direction – the operation can be stopped and the plan revised.
Nuances and Context
FractPoint was developed in response to the long-standing dominance of foreign software in the sector. Meeting industry expectations is only part of the challenge; the system also needs to account for the specific characteristics of Russian fields and work with locally manufactured equipment.
Fracture behavior in the formation, including injection parameters such as rate and pressure, can be monitored through a single interface. In field conditions, signals are affected by interference, including equipment vibration and background seismicity. The system filters out such noise using advanced filtering techniques and machine learning. In practice, the software is trained to distinguish useful rock-fracturing signals from false positives.
Hydraulic fracturing is particularly important for mature fields and hard-to-recover reserves, which account for more than 65% of Russia’s reserves. The emergence of domestic software for managing these operations is fully aligned with the Russian government’s approved strategic direction for the digital transformation of the energy sector through 2036.
A Domestic Frac Fleet
The new TNG-IT system is not the industry’s only recent achievement. In July 2026, Gazprom Neft began commercial operation at the Yuzhno-Priobskoye field in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug – Yugra of Russia’s first fully domestic serial-production frac fleet. Gazpromneft-Khantos was the customer, while MeKaMineft served as the operator and service company.
Until 2022, all frac fleets in Russia – estimated at between 135 and 150 units – were imported. The risk of losing access to equipment and spare parts posed a direct threat to production. Thus, developing a domestic fleet became a matter not simply of import substitution but of energy security. The fleet was created through an unusual collaboration between universities and industrial organizations. Just one year passed from contract signing to production of the first unit, a record time by global standards.
Its key advantage is a pressure rating of more than 1,050 atmospheres, nearly twice the capability of existing imported fleets. This makes it possible to perform hydraulic fracturing at greater depths and in low-permeability reservoirs where such operations were previously not feasible. The fleet consists of 12 units mounted on their own chassis. The equipment is not classified as oversized cargo, which significantly simplifies logistics.
The second serial-production fleet is scheduled to enter service in 2027. Several more serial complexes will be delivered by 2030 for Gazprom Neft projects in Western and Eastern Siberia. The project is included in the Ministry of Energy and Ministry of Industry and Trade’s import-substitution roadmap through 2030.
The telemetry from this fleet – including pressure, flow rate, fluid density and proppant concentration – supplies exactly the data that the microseismic monitoring system uses to adjust operations in real time. In effect, the frac fleet provides the “hands,” while FractPoint serves as the system’s “eyes and brain.” FractPoint does more than replace foreign software; it digitalizes one of the most technologically complex stages of oilfield services.
