Development of the Russian energy extraction service market has reached the stage that can best be defined as "coalescence". From one side it is caused by the growing interest of large financial groups in investment in this promising sector and from the other side by noncompetitiveness of small service companies because of industrial needs for implementing new technologies and equipment which demand large funds for technical innovations and trained personnel. Clearly demonstrating this is the fact that the general sponsor of the Moscow Oil & Gas show this year was a Russian service company. Without any doubt, this will help to widen the range of services available on the Russian oil and gas service market including those who require coiled tubing applications.

 

One more interesting tendency of these last three months is a sign of clear understanding of the oil and gas industry importance in the Russian economy by administration and society. Celebrations of 3 billion tons of oil produced in Tatarstan, show this quite obviously. The celebrations include issuing of jubilee medals with state status, building a lot of sport, cultural, medical projects in the South-Eastern part of Tatarstan, reconstruction of roads and social buildings, building new houses in a number of cities and towns of the region, organizing a number of seminars and scientific-practical conferences for specialists of oil and gas industry, issuing a book "History of the Three Billions", documentaries about Tatneft and even building a monument. The scale of these events can only be compared to the celebration of jubilee of Moscow, Russian capital. Of course, the importance of the oil and gas industry in Russia never was underestimated by economists and experts, but this celebration will help the society to understand the influence of this sector of the economy on their life and will definitely boost the prestige of oil and gas specialists. This in turn will help in recruiting and training high skilled personnel for implementation of new technologies and equipment.

 

Ron Clarke