On September 10–11, the XII Federal Forum of IT and Digital Technologies of the Russian Fuel and Energy Complex, SMART OIL & GAS, was held in Moscow. One of the central themes of the business program was the further development of technological sovereignty after the stage of forced import substitution. Participants discussed the economic effect of artificial intelligence, industry industrial platforms, financing of IT projects, and the future role of captive IT companies.
Against the backdrop of summarizing the results of forced import substitution, issues of efficiency and practical application of digital solutions occupied a prominent place in the program. The title of one of the forum sessions was characteristic: “AI and ML in the Russian Fuel and Energy Complex: from hype to industrial implementations. Cases, metrics, import substitution.” The program also included digital twins, APCS, corporate information systems, data management, and industrial communication. A separate session was dedicated to the digital transformation of refineries and gas processing plants without stopping production; unmanned systems and ways to shorten the path from solution creation to practical use were discussed.
A digital project must solve a production problem
The practical side of this process is demonstrated by the projects of the XVII Fyodor Pryadunov Award “Best Digital Solutions for the Fuel and Energy Complex,” the award ceremony for which took place within the framework of the forum. In 2026, the nominations were grouped into three blocks: the fuel and energy production cycle, technological transformation, and infrastructure, security, and human resources.
The system “Management of Mature Field Development using Neural Networks” by Alma Services Company determines well interference coefficients in real time, forms optimal technological injection and production regimes, and automatically selects geological and technical measures. The solution is already operating at 80 facilities in Western Siberia, the Komi Republic, and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug.
The Evoskada software platform by Transneft-Tekhnologii is designed to automate the management of main pipelines. It can process up to 1.2 million changes per second, and its microservice architecture allows for increasing capacity and updating individual components without stopping operations.
AI is moving towards industrial application
Artificial intelligence at the forum was considered from the perspective of its applied effect – from automation in industry and working with corporate data to the application of technologies in APCS, MES, and SCADA. In the final workshop, participants analyzed the conditions for effective AI operation, key blocking factors, and areas where the greatest beneficial effect is noticeable.
The EchoTools software developed by RN-Geologiya Issledovaniya Razrabotka uses artificial intelligence to process acoustic well measurements. The neural network determines the fluid level and sound velocity in the annulus, which allows for calculating bottomhole pressure without sensors. The system processes thousands of echograms per minute.
Another example is the project “Predictive Reliability of IT Equipment in Fuel Retail,” implemented by Gazpromneft – Tsifrovye Resheniya for OOO Gazpromneft-Tsentr, Gazprom Neft's own network of gas stations. The system collects data on the condition of hard drives at 1.7 thousand stations in the network, and machine learning analyzes 44 parameters of each disk. Algorithms identify deviations and predict failures, allowing equipment to be replaced before it breaks down.
Digital twin is linked to enterprise economics
At the forum, digital twins were considered in relation to well construction, enterprise modeling, refineries, and petrochemical complexes. In the award projects, the digital model is directly linked to production planning.
The solution based on NAUKA.Proxima and NAUKA.Plan models the operation of a technological object and searches for the optimal mode. The obtained results are transmitted to the planning system, where their impact on the production plan and economic indicators of the enterprise is evaluated.
In power generation, a digital twin is used to manage energy generation. The system calculates possible operating modes of equipment, evaluating each by cost, reliability, and degree of wear, forms recommendations, and allows for planning unit maintenance a year in advance.
The effect of digitalization becomes measurable
One of the notable features of the presented projects is specific operational indicators.
The “Smart Cloud 1C” project – an industrial development and delivery platform for 1C solutions with an elastic virtualized infrastructure – serves 30 teams, 150 solutions, and 4 thousand information bases. Manual operations in assembly and delivery are reduced by 80%, release frequency has quadrupled, the number of defects at acceptance has decreased by 50%, and connecting a new developer takes one day.
Digital tools also affect material resource management. The “Demand Management System,” developed by Gazpromneft – Tsifrovye Resheniya for PAO Gazprom Neft, consolidates data from various sources and provides resource search taking into account nomenclature, characteristics, and location. This allows for using internal reserves to cover needs without new procurement.
Technological independence affects IT infrastructure
The task of technological independence remains part of the industry agenda and affects the architecture of corporate systems.
AO Aisource's “Virtual Controller” is a software solution for automating technological processes by replacing proprietary controllers with open technologies. The system runs on ordinary industrial computers, is not tied to a specific equipment manufacturer, and supports Russian operating systems and processors.
The unified platform for approbation and testing “Poligon,” created by PAO Gazprom Neft, is designed for testing and approbation of domestic IT solutions. It unites customers, suppliers, and testing centers in a single information space and is entirely built on Russian software.
Industrial communication remains a separate area. SMART OIL & GAS participants discussed the balance of wired and wireless technologies, the role of fixed infrastructure, the application of 5G and private p5G networks, as well as issues of reliability and operation in remote areas.
From technology – to result
The SMART OIL & GAS 2026 program and the Fyodor Pryadunov Award projects demonstrate a common approach: digital solutions in the fuel and energy complex are considered in connection with specific production and business processes.
Along with AI and digital twins, forum participants discussed process mining, corporate systems, engineering data management, reducing equipment downtime, and IT infrastructure. The award projects show the practical results of this approach – from the operation of neural network solutions at dozens of production facilities to an 80% reduction in manual operations.
Thus, the focus shifts from the technology itself to the result of its application: the impact on production, internal processes, resource utilization, and infrastructure reliability.