The research integrates four important issues of exploration of hydrocarbon resources: effective searching and prospecting of new deposits with the use of modern methods of stratigraphic analysis and geological space modeling, 3D field modelling, engineering of effective methods of mature oil field development, such as bagenits and domanikits, as well as deposits of high-viscosity oil and mineral tars.

Project manager: Danis K. Nurgaliev, Director of the Institute of Geology and Petroleum Technologies of KFU, Doctor of Science (Geology and Mineralogy), born in 1956.

Partners among major oil producing companies: PJSC “Tatneft” (elaborating on innovative methods to control the exploration of high-viscosity oil resources), PJSC “Gazprom” (3D modelling, from nanometre to kilometre), PJSC “LUKOIL” (monitoring of a gravity field condition), PETRONAS, Malaysia (integrated geological and hydrodynamic modelling), KazMunaiGaz, Kazakhstan (consulting on the effective development of deposits in the late stage of their development).

The main results: a unique equipment for carrying out the laboratory studies of core samples has been created, the methods of cosmogeological survey for the detection of hydrocarbon reserves have been developed, as well as methods for digital core modelling and integrated geological and hydrodynamic modeling. As a result, in 2015 52 articles were published in the journals indexed in Scopus and Web of Science databases with a total impact factor of more than 75. More than 100 mln RUB were obtained (grants and commercial contracts) and 2 patents were received in 2015.

Project 218 “Creation of innovations and technologies and development of equipment and software for effective subsurface studies aimed at identifying hydrocarbon accumulations and for reservoir management” (07.09.10–31.12.2012), project manager: Professor Danis K. Nurgaliev. Three new downhole tools were created, two of which are essentially new and have no analogues in the world.

Project 218 “Development of high-tech geophysical instruments and methods for effective development of high-viscosity oil and mineral tars deposits” (02.12.2013–31.12.2015), project manager: Professor Danis K. Nurgaliev. Two downhole tools were created, as well as a set of ground geophysical tools for geological and technical studies data collection.