This year's Russian Energy Week (REW) International Forum in Moscow brought government officials from various countries, heads of major energy companies and organisations, scientists, and experts under its central theme of "The New Reality of Global Energy: Building the Future."

 

The forum took place for the sixth time from 11–13 October at the Manege Central Exhibition Hall in Moscow.

 

Alexander Novak, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation,  noted three essential objectives for Russia’s energy development strategy: “Firstly, we must ensure our traditional energy sector of oil and gas, electricity, and coal is sustainable. Secondly, we must continue to diversify our fuel and energy sector by developing new areas and products in petrochemicals and liquefied natural gas production. And the third thing we need to do is make our energy mix cleaner, by increasing the share of nuclear and renewable energy in Russia while maintaining the right balance between oil, gas and coal, and other sources. The government has developed a strategy for improving the energy balance as part of the Energy Strategy of Russia for the Period until 2035, though we are already thinking of extending that to 2050.”

 

AGREEMENTS

 

Some of the agreements signed during REW included:

•Russian and foreign companies and government organisations concluded a total of 28 agreements and memorandums of cooperation during REW 2023.

 

•The Final Protocol of the 8th meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Russian-Saudi Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, and Technical Cooperation was signed during the Forum.

 

•The Russian government and SIBUR Holding signed an agreement of intent to develop equipment for the petroleum and gas chemical industry.

 

•Rosatom State Corporation and the Myanmar Ministry of Science and Technology signed a memorandum of understanding to evaluate and develop nuclear infrastructure in Myanmar. In addition, Rosenergoatom Concern (the Electric Energy Division of the Rosatom State Corporation) and the St. Petersburg International Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange signed a cooperation agreement on the trading of certificates of origin for electricity generated using low-carbon and renewable sources.

 

•Rosseti signed 10 agreements that aim to develop and strengthen cooperation in the strategic and innovative development of the Russian power grid sector, raise awareness among citizens and legal entities, implement educational programmes and events for children and young people, and work on other areas that require scientific research.

 

•Gazprom Neft, the Russian Ministry of Energy, and the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade signed a roadmap on the development of domestic equipment for drilling and onshore hydrocarbon production.

 

•The Russian Energy Agency of the Russian Ministry of Energy signed a number of important documents, including an agreement with the Agency for Strategic Initiatives on cooperation on the climate agenda, including on such issues as energy efficiency, energy management, and low-carbon development, as well as a cooperation agreement with Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas (National Research University).

 

•The Roscongress Foundation signed three strategic documents: cooperation agreements with Iran’s Institute for International Energy Studies, the African Energy Chamber, and Venezuela’s International Centre for Industrial Investment.

 

BUSINESS PROGRAMME

 

The Forum programme was built on four pillars: ‘The International Agenda’, ‘The Development of the Fuel and Energy Sector’, ‘Scientific and Technological Development, and the Digital Transformation’, and ‘Sustainable Development and the Climate’. The Forum also included bilateral meetings, negotiations, and business breakfasts.

 

The key event in the Forum’s business programme was the plenary session, which was attended by President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani. The discussion was moderated by Al Ghad TV journalist Amr Abdelhamid.

 

The session ‘The Global Oil and Gas Market: Navigating a Period of Turbulence’, with the participation of Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak, generated significant attention among REW 2023 participants. The session was also attended by Caretaker Federal Minister of Energy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Muhammad Ali, Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska Radovan Viskovic, Minister of Petroleum of the Islamic Republic of Iran Javad Owji, Executive Vice President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Delcy Eloina Rodriguez Gomez, and Minister of Energy of the Republic of Azerbaijan Parviz Shahbazov.

 

Another key event was the Global Energy Association’s session ‘Building the City of the Future’, which was attended by Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin, Sberbank CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board Herman Gref, as well as foreign guests: Deputy Director for Information Technology of China’s State Grid Corporation Jiye Wang and Point Systems Zrt Founder and CEO Laszlo Kovacs.

 

The Joint Intergovernmental Russian-Saudi Commission held a meeting during Russian Energy Week.

 

In addition, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov and Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak held a meeting of the Coordinating Council under the Government Commission on Import Substitution on ways to substitute imports of oil and gas equipment.

 

PARTICIPANTS

 

Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, China, Vietnam, Turkey, Iran, and Iraq were the countries with the largest delegations at Russian Energy Week this year.

 

Senior officials who attended REW 2023 included Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani; Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy Affairs and Minister of Oil of Iraq Hayyan Abdul Ghani; and Executive Vice President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Delcy Eloina Rodriguez Gomez.

 

REW 2023 was also attended by Prime Minister of Republic of Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina) Radovan Viskovic and 21 foreign ministers.

 

Among the heads of international organisations and associations, REW 2023 was attended by Executive Secretary of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation Sergey Pospelov and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the CIS Electric Power Council Taras Kupchikov.

 

The Forum was also attended by 36 heads of diplomatic corps.

 

Over 1,200 representatives of foreign and Russian businesses from more than 250 companies attended the Forum. Prominent representatives of Russian business included: Gazprom Chairman of the Management Board Alexey Miller; Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation Director General Alexey Likhachev; Rosseti Federal Grid Company General Director Andrey Ryumin; Russian Direct Investment Fund CEO Kirill Dmitriev; Zarubezhneft General Director Sergey Kudryashov; and Surgutneftegas General Director Vladimir Bogdanov.

 

Representatives of foreign businesses who attended REW 2023 included: Vietnam Oil and Gas Group Member of the Board of Directors Tran Binh Minh; Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske General Manager Luka Petrović; Syrian Petroleum Corporation CEO Nabih Khrestin; Director of China’s State Grid Corporation’s Representative Office in Moscow Xiaoming Ou; Basra Oil Company Director General Bassem Abdul Karim; UzGasTrade Chairman of the Board Alisher Agzamov; and Acting Uztransgaz Chairman of the Board Askar Isakov.

 

‘GLOBAL ENERGY’ AND ‘ENERGY OF THE PEN’ PRIZES

 

An official ceremony was held during REW 2023 to present the Global Energy Prize for outstanding scientific research and scientific-technical developments in the field of energy which promote greater efficiency and environmental security for energy sources on Earth in the interests of all mankind.

 

This year, the prize was won by scientists from China.

 

Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems Founding Director Zhong Lin Wang was awarded in the Non-Conventional Energy category for the invention of triboelectric nanogenerators as a new energy technology for autonomous systems, the Internet of Things, robotics, artificial intelligence, and large-scale blue energy harvesting.

 

Ruzhu Wang emerged as the laureate in the New Ways of Energy Application category for his research in sorption cooling, which has significantly improved the technology of using low-grade thermal energy to create high-efficiency cooling, as well as for a significant contribution to the development of a dehumidifier-based heat pump, which doubled the energy efficiency of cooling and heating.

 

During the ceremony, an Honorary Diploma was presented to a foreign scientist on behalf of the Global Energy Association.

 

Ljubivoje Popovic, who dedicated his entire life to working at the Electric Power Distribution Company of Belgrade, was awarded for developing a methodology that makes it possible to determine the relevant characteristics of high-voltage and ultra-high-voltage cable lines.

 

In addition, REW 2023 hosted an award ceremony for the winners of the ‘Energy of the Pen’ international media competition, which aims to encourage journalists, observers, and experts to cover the most pressing issues facing the modern energy industry, including the transformation of the global energy balance, the development of new technologies, and climate change.

 

The awards were presented to the winners by Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak and Deputy Chief of Staff of the Russian Presidential Executive Office and Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov.

 

The ‘Energy of the Pen’ competition received a total of 262 applications from Russia and 23 other countries.

 

The winners were selected by a panel of judges comprised of the directors of major television channels, business publications, and news agencies.

 

YOUTH DAY

 

On 13 October, REW concluded with Youth Day, which was attended by more than 2,000 young people, who presented dozens of projects and industry initiatives, shared their experience, and received advice from experts.

 

The central event of Youth Day was the plenary session ‘Energy 2035: The Future of the Sector’, which was attended by Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak.

 

The event was held in the format of a generational battle.

 

The REW Youth Day programme included a total of 30 events that aimed to promote the fuel and energy industry as well as engineering and technical professions.

 

The Forum is organised by the Roscongress Foundation and the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation, with the support of the Moscow City Government.--OGN/ TradeArabia News Service