KAZAKHSTAN UPSTREAM OIL AND GAS technology and R&d ...

R&D focus
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A need for more communication
and better planning on a national
scale
By comparing the industry-prioritized R&D
focus areas (from the latest topic mapping
exercise reported earlier plus input gathered
throughout the project) with the strengths of
the Kazakhstan R&D community (information
gained during visits to leading laboratories
and institutes), it has been possible to
identify the R&D focus areas most likely to
bear immediate fruit. Four areas stand out:
correlation of NMR core data from SCAL
studies with well logs; the use of non-metallic
materials in highly corrosive environments;
sulphur storage and applications; and
bio- and nano-sensors for environmental
monitoring.
It would be reasonable to expect R&D
proposals from the Kazakhstan academic
community to centre around these areas
and, in time, to see Kazakhstan develop
strong capabilities in the NMR interpretation
of complex rocks, in the use of non-metallic
pipelines and in the utilisation of sulphur (sour
gas to power was seen as a particularly
interesting opportunity in this area).
Kazakhstan is already well recognized for its
environmental services and, with more R&D,
should realistically aim to become an industry
leader in this area.
The process of identifying R&D priorities
that was begun during the roadmapping
project is one that must be carried out on a
continuous basis and become more focused
and directed. There is a strong case for the
establishment of a council at government
level, including representatives from industry
and the academic community, tasked with
national R&D strategy development and
planning in Kazakhstan.
R&D in Kazakhstan suffers severely from a
lack of communication and collaboration,
especially between the parties seeking
solutions and those able to generate them:
one of the more striking features to emerge
from the roadmapping project is the relatively
poor communication between the upstream
oil operators and the Kazakhstan academic
community. An organization with authority is
needed to control and coordinate upstream
oil and gas R&D in Kazakhstan, to provide
focus, to determine funding and monitor the
outcomes of the work.
R&D planning
It would be realistic to expect the Kazakhstan
government/industry R&D planning process
to be founded on the established principles
used to plan and manage R&D by many large
technology-oriented companies. Translated
onto a national scale, the process might be
run along the following lines:
n The major operators and service companies
would each outline their views on the prime
challenges faced by their organisations
on an annual basis – they would be
encouraged to provide information on
the nature and status of the challenge, its
urgency and the size of the prize.
n The information, once analysed and
consolidated, would be made widely
available to the academic community and
used to shape R&D proposals.
n Good proposals would be likely to feature
international and in-country academic
partnerships; they would also contain
well-developed project cost estimates and
timeframes, and go as far as describing
technology demonstration and field trials
requirements.
n Proposals received positively would be
progressed in the first place by (1) a
sharing of relevant data and information
from the industry side with the R&D
proposer and (2) the setting of suitable
milestones and key performance indicators.
n Assuming good progress of the work,
it would be incumbent on the industry
organisation that set the challenge to
facilitate field trials of the new technology
solution.
n The reasons behind unsuccessful proposals
would be made clear and used to drive
improvements in the sections of the
academic community involved.
The process just outlined addresses a
number of the issues judged by participants
in the roadmapping project to be hindering
R&D in Kazakhstan – lack of focus, limited
collaboration, poor understanding by the
academic community of the challenges and
the opportunities within the industry, and the
difficulty of fixing up field trials were foremost
among them.
Additional enablers highlighted during the
course of the roadmapping project include
the provision of guidance to academics on
the commercialization of R&D; the relaxation
of local content regulations in selected
emerging technology areas; measures to ease
the import of equipment for R&D purposes
and field trials; and a facilitation of visits,
perhaps extended stays, by international
technology experts. The establishment of
centres of excellence and technology parks
was another measure favoured by many in
the industry. Finally, there was a call for better
understanding of international patent law and
clearer recognition of intellectual property
rights.
Kazakhstan Upstream oil & gas technology and R&D roadmap