Gazprom Neft and Krastsvetmet signed an agreement on joint development of technologies for extracting valuable elements from formation waters of oil and gas deposits. The document was signed at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2025) by the heads of the companies – Alexander Dyukov and Mikhail Diaghilev.
Reservoir waters, which are produced together with oil and gas, contain valuable components: lithium, bromine, strontium, vanadium and gallium. Today these elements are widely used in medicine, the chemical industry and battery production, but Russia still depends on their imports. The joint project will not only reduce this dependence, but also create new sources of income for the oil and gas industry.
At the first stage, the partners will analyze the market and develop a business model. In the future, they plan to introduce technologies not only in Russia, but also abroad.
Gazprom Neft already has successful experience in this area: the company previously obtained lithium carbonate with a purity of 99.6%, suitable for the production of batteries without additional purification.
Alexander Dyukov noted that the extraction of elements from formation waters will increase profitability deposits and will provide industry with valuable raw materials. Mikhail Diaghilev added that the companies have already tested a pilot installation for lithium extraction, and are now ready to scale up the technology.
Experts believe that the extraction of lithium from formation waters can bring Russian companies up to $13 billion a year. This direction is especially promising in the Irkutsk region, the Ural-Volga region and the North Caucasus, where significant reserves are concentrated.
The joint project of Gazprom Neft and Krastsvetmet opens up new opportunities for Russian industry. The introduction of advanced technologies will reduce dependence on imports and strengthen the country’s position in the global market of rare elements.
The material was prepared with the support of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science as part of the Decade of Science and Technology
Source: neftegaz.ru
