OREANDA-NEWS. An agreement "On on establishing proving grounds for development and introduction of the latest technologies for prospecting, exploration and development, and development of hard-to-recover hydrocarbon resources was signed between the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tatarstan".

The document was signed by Sergey Donskoy, Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation, and Rustam Minnikhanov, Acting President of the Republic of Tatarstan.

The signing event was also attended by Valerii Pak, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation - Head of the Federal Agency for Subsoil Use, Ildar Khalikov, Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan, Artem Sidorov, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Tatarstan, Nail Maganov, General Director of JSC TATNEFT, and Rais Khisamov, Chief Geologist of JSC TATNEFT.

The agreement will allow creating conditions for sustainable growth of hydrocarbons production in Tatarstan and throughout the Russian Federation. The official document will contribute to a favorable investment environment for the organization and implementation of effective geological exploration and technologies' development in respect of hard-to-recover hydrocarbon resources. The Agreement defined bituminous oil and Domanik deposits oil as the main areas of research and pilot projects.

Establishment of the proving grounds will allow conducting geological studies, involving the scientific base of Tatarstan and Russia, as well as developing production technologies of hard-to-recover hydrocarbon reserves.