OREANDA-NEWS. October 9, 2012. The head of Gazprom Neft's Directorate of Geological Exploration and Resource Base Development, Aleksei Vashkevich, who had experience leading the Samara division of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), created in 2010, has been elected head of the Northwestern division of SPE.

The decision was made at the first meeting of the Northwestern division of SPE in September, which was established in July 2012 in Saint Petersburg as a result of a joint initiative by Gazprom Neft and LLC Tekhnologiya Ekonomika Resursy. Besides Gazprom Neft’s employees, the division's Management Board is now comprised of representatives of the Saint Petersburg State University, the Gorny National Minerals and Natural Resources University, and LLC Tekhnologiya Ekonomika Resursy.

Aleksei Vashkevich noted, "The creation of the Northwestern division of the SPE will make it possible to shape a new forum for discourse in the region, where representatives of professional community will be able to discuss any issues facing the industry today. What's more, division members will be able to share their practical experience and use the body of science accumulated by their colleagues. One of our primary challenges will be to fashion closer communication between business and research communities in order to further promote joint projects, in particular, the development and application of innovative technologies. For Gazprom Neft, which has had its central office located in Saint Petersburg since 2011, working in the new SPE division will be yet another opportunity to develop potential staff through interaction with the division's student group.”