Gazprom, the prominent Russian energy company, recently hosted a tour of its facilities for African journalists and experts, during which it highlighted the use of locally sourced production equipment. Alexey Mitusov, the Head of the Capital Building Department at Gazprom's Combined Heat and Power Plant (CHPP), revealed that the majority of equipment used at the power plant for electricity and heat generation was produced in Russia.
The CHPP, operational since 1957, plays a crucial role in supplying electricity and heat to industries, residential areas, and public buildings in the southwestern part of St. Petersburg, covering districts such as Admiralteysky, Kirovsky, and Krasnoselsky. The plant operates with modern technologies and serves more than 500,000 private consumers and major production companies, including the PJSC Severnaya Verf shipyard, building plant, and seaports.
Mitusov shared insights into the extensive renovation of the Pervomaiskaya CHPP conducted by Gazprom from 2012 to 2017. This revamp involved the construction of a new modern plant equipped with two 180-megawatt combined-cycle power units and a combined auxiliary building with boiler equipment and a cogeneration unit. The renovated CHPP now ranks among the top five largest CHPPs in St. Petersburg, and it predominantly utilizes natural gas as its main fuel source.
The CHPP's renovation resulted in the replacement of outdated steam power and auxiliary equipment, significantly boosting the capacity for heat and power production. The plant, which operates 24/7, ensures a continuous supply of heat for hot water to consumers while utilizing combined-cycle gas turbines to generate electricity.
The tour also included a visit to the Research and Production Factory, Izmeron, a key manufacturer of equipment for oil and gas production. With Gazprom as its major client, Izmeron collaborates with major oil and gas companies in both Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), as well as non-CIS countries.
Ruslan Sazontsev, the Deputy Director of Commercial Development at LLC, NPF Zavod, Izmeron, highlighted the company's high-tech equipment used for hydrocarbon drilling, production plants, engineering services, and well construction and repair in Russia. Gazprom has been a long-term purchaser of equipment from Izmeron for use in its fields in Yamal, Eastern Siberia, the Southern Ural, and Southern Russia.
Izmeron has recently launched the batch production of carbonic acid-resistant and hydrogen sulfide-resistant downhole equipment, which has found application at Gazprom's Urengoyskoye, Orenburgskoye, and Astrakhanskoye fields. The company's expanded production capacities enable a higher output, increasing production from 50 to 200 items.
The tour also encompassed JSC Nevsky Zavod (JSC NZL), St. Petersburg's oldest industrial enterprise founded in 1857. This company, with 2,000 employees, has been manufacturing equipment for Gazprom since 2019. Alexander Sergeev, the Production Director, emphasized that all key products, including Gas Compressor Units (GCUs) and gas turbine units, are produced with local inputs.
The products manufactured by JSC NZL, such as steam turbine units and electrically driven GCUs, are instrumental in Gazprom's large-scale investment projects, of strategic importance to Russia. The GCUs serve as critical equipment at compressor stations along gas trunk lines and booster compressor stations in gas-producing and gas-processing facilities. During the tour, the African team witnessed the melting of metal to liquid form, a crucial step in crafting gas turbines and compressors for the country's oil and gas industry and other clients.