The decision was voiced by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education on 28th August.
60 applications were made by various consortia from across Russia, and 11 were chosen to receive funding. One of the compulsory prerequisites was the presence of co-applicants, i. e. pitches from a single institution were not allowed.
Kazan University won as a part of the WLRC for Rational Use of Liquid Hydrocarbons. The co-applicants here are Russian State University of Oil and Gas, Ufa State Petroleum Technical University, and Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology.
“Despite the tight competition, Kazan University was victorious and, more importantly, is the head organization of the consortium. The allocated funding for all the selected WLRCs is 15.46 billion rubles for the period of 2020 – 2024,” says Rector Ilshat Gafurov. ”Our positions in industry rankings and our achievements are a good launch point for implementing our Program of Strategic Academic Leadership.”
Vice-Rector for Research, Director of the Institute of Geology and Petroleum Technologies Danis Nurgaliev adds, “After the Institute of Geology and Petroleum Technologies was opened in 2011, we’ve managed to become national leaders in this industry in less than ten years. This new World-Level Research Center is of national importance. 35% of the consolidated federal budget of Russia is petroleum revenue. And until at least mid-21st century, petroleum will comprise 75% of global energy production.”
Dr. Nurgaliev says that the WLRC’s priorities are introducing innovative techniques of exploration and production of oil and gas in Siberia, including those with the use of Big Data and AI. Of equal importance is attracting young talents from Russia and abroad.
Source text: Rufina Gimaletdinova
Translation: Yury Nurmeev