Gazprom to make modified bitumen at Moscow Oil Refinery

Gazprom Neft and Total link open a new window have signed an agreement to create Gazprom Neft—Total PMB LLC, a joint venture for the production and sale on the Russian market of modified bitumen and bitumen emulsions. Each partner will have a 50 percent stake in Gazpromneft-Total PMB LLC. PMB stands for polymer-modified bitumens. The joint venture will produce polymer-modified bitumen using Total’s licensed technology. A special joint brand, G-Way Styrelf, has been created for the new product, Gazprom Neft said. G-Way Styrelf bitumens are used in the production of exceptional quality longlasting, crack-resistant road surfaces. Gazpromneft-Total PMB will build a special production facility to manufacture G-Way Styrelf polymer-modified bitumens at the site of Gazprom Neft’s Moscow Oil Refinery link open a new window. The new production line will have a capacity of 60,000 tonnes of polymermodified bitumens and 7,000 tonnes of bitumen emulsions per year. “Demand for innovative road construction materials is growing rapidly in Russia. Experts estimate that the country’s annual consumption of polymer-modified bitumens will double by 2015, reaching 130,000 tonnes. The production of high-quality bitumen materials using the latest technology is one of Gazprom Neft’s priorities in maintaining its leading position in the Russian bitumen market,” Anatoly Cherner, Gazprom Neft’s Deputy CEO for Logistics, Refining and Sales, said. Jacques de Boisseson, General Representative of Total in Russia, noted: “We are pleased to enter into this agreement, which demonstrates the strength of our Russian partnership and the demand for the high quality technology that we produce. We believe that Russia’s modified bitumen market has a lot of potential...” Gazprom Neft and its subsidiaries are a vertically integrated oil company. Operations are focused on the exploration, development, production and sale of crude oil and gas, as well as oil refining and the marketing of petroleum products. Gazprom Neft has been developing production and sales of bitumen materials since 2008 and is now the market leader for sales with a 26 percent market share. In 2012 sales reached around 1.5 million tonnes. Gazprom Neft’s oil refineries produce road, construction and roofing bitumen brands, as well as polymer-bitumen binders (PBB) and bitumen emulsions. Total link open a new window is one of the largest integrated oil and gas companies in the world, with activities in more than 130 countries. The Group is also a first rank player in chemicals. Its 97,000 employees put their expertise to work in every part of the industry — exploration and production of oil and natural gas, refining and marketing, new energies, trading, and chemicals. Total is working to help satisfy the global demand for energy, both now and in the future.