OREANDA-NEWS. Employees are Gazprom’s greatest asset and competitive advantage. The Company pays utmost attention to occupational safety and ensures the work environment is as comfortable as possible. Gazprom has declared 2016 as the Year of Occupational Safety. This year will see over 700 events aimed at enhancing occupational safety and improving working conditions.

A snowmobile race organized by Gazprom, Gazprom Dobycha Nadym, Gazprom Dobycha Urengoy, and Gazprom Dobycha Yamburg was one of those events.

The race route was as follows: the town of Nadym – comprehensive gas treatment unit (CGTU) No. 9 at the Medvezhye field – CGTU-9 in the Kharvutinskaya area of the Yamburgskoye field – CGTU-16 in the Pestsovaya area of the Urengoyskoye field – the city of Novy Urengoy. The route was 518.8 kilometers long.

The race participants were to visit Gazprom’s production facilities located in the Nadym and Pur Districts of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area. At each facility the employees of subsidiary companies would exhibit their skills in the field of occupational and industrial safety.

The snowmobile race brought together 37 participants – representatives of Gazprom, authorities of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area, regional fuel and energy companies, and two technical sports clubs, Yamburg and Fakel. It is noteworthy that participation in the event grows every year. For instance, four years ago the race involved just 12 persons.

The town of Nadym was chosen as a starting point.

It was from here that tractor-sled trains departed to explore gas fields of the Yamal Peninsula forty years ago.

This time, the route will be covered by fast snowmobiles.

The race started with a floral offering at the monument to Vladislav Strizhov, the first Director General of Gazprom Dobycha Nadym.

Sergey Akhmedsafin, Deputy Head of the Gazprom Department, greeted the snowmobilers and wished them a safe journey. “The goal of the race is to remind us once again that safety starts with responsibility, respect for oneself and others, and consideration for colleagues. These simple yet important things are essential in our everyday work, in a snowmobile race, and in life in general. Occupational safety is a priority for each and every employee of Gazprom, from production workers to top managers,” he said.

The starting signal was given! The first checkpoint – CGTU-9 at the Medvezhye field – was some 200 kilometers away.

The racers enjoyed a favorable weather: it was a fair day.

They made a pit stop near the Nori settlement in the middle of the first stage. Snowmobile inspections identified no faults and allowed the participants to continue the race.

Seven hours after the race had started, the full team arrived at CGTU-9 at the Medvezhye field, a production facility of Gazprom Dobycha Nadym.

The racers were greeted with bread and salt.

Still, no time to rest. A brief respite was followed by a workshop entitled “The key to efficient performance is comprehensive occupational safety.” Igor Melnikov, Chief Engineer and First Deputy Director General of Gazprom Dobycha Nadym, noted that the lack of accidents and incidents in 2015 had been the main achievement of the occupational and industrial safety policy implemented by Gazprom Dobycha Nadym. Over 30 occupational safety events are planned for 2016.

Right after the meeting, the participants set off for the second stage of the race: they were to drive almost 111 kilometers to the Yamburgskoye field.

Faced with hard snow and bumpy tundra roads, the team passed an endurance test. One of the racers even had to pull a tree trunk out of his snowmobile track.

Despite that, all challenges were solved through teamwork and the race continued.

It was late in the evening when all the racers arrived at the second checkpoint – CGTU-9 in the Kharvutinskaya area of the Yamburgskoye field operated by Gazprom Dobycha Yamburg.

Andrey Kashirov, Deputy Director General for Economics and Finance at Gazprom Dobycha Yamburg.

There, Gazprom Dobycha Yamburg held a number of occupational safety events. It should be noted that 10,000 workers received special training at the company in 2015. As a result, almost 1,000 employees learned first-aid skills. In addition, the working conditions were improved for over 4,000 people.

The guests saw two demonstrations: a firefighting team put out a fire at a production facility and a contingency response group saved people from under rubble.

There was also a presentation of workwear for the gas industry co-designed by Gazprom Dobycha Yamburg’s experts. The summer work suit depicted above protects the wearer from industrial pollution and physical impacts. Such work suits are widely used at gas facilities.

The second day saw the racers move further along the route.

CGTU-16 in the Pestsovaya area of the Urengoyskoye field operated by Gazprom Dobycha Urengoy was the third checkpoint.

The team traveled about 95 kilometers between the second and third checkpoints.

There, in the Pestsovaya area near a gas production site, the snowmobilers attended a training exercise organized by the Northern Militarized Unit of Gazprom Gazobezopasnost in conjunction with Gazprom Dobycha Urengoy. According to the exercise script, the operator received an emergency call about a fire outbreak at a well cluster with subsequent gas release. The emergency response team arrived on the scene and successfully dealt with the accident.

In 2015, Gazprom Dobycha Urengoy had no accidents associated with production safety, thanks mostly to the measures aimed at promoting a high-level corporate culture of industrial safety. Those efforts will continue into 2016 as well, with a special training room for occupational safety to be created.

Meanwhile, the participants entered the final stage of the race: a 130-kilometer section from CGTU-16 in the Pestsovaya area of the Urengoyskoye field to the city of Novy Urengoy. It was quite a challenge!

The racers had to cross water barriers.

Sometimes their vehicles got stuck in the snow and had to be dug out.

Determined to win nevertheless, all the racers headed toward the finish line.

Lake Molodezhnoye in the city of Novy Urengoy was the final checkpoint.

It was already night when the race concluded. No accidents or injuries occurred on the route.

The snowmobilers were welcomed by not only gas workers but also city dwellers.

“The snowmobile race dedicated to Gazprom’s Year of Occupational Safety is first and foremost a manifestation of our commitment to the workplace policy of protecting health and lives of our employees, our concern for people,” said Vsevolod Cherepanov, Member of the Gazprom Management Committee and Department Head, who drove snowmobile No. 1 in the race.