On 18 February, 2016, Volgograd Engineering University hosted the senior students’ meeting with potential employers, Giprosintez among them, as part of the Career Day series of events. The employer companies spoke about their job opportunities and answered the questions from the audience. Such meetings contribute to setting up an efficient employer-student interface and finding solutions to employment challenges.

Giprosintez is a Russian design institute with many years of successful work for chemical, petrochemical, refining, building and defense industries. The Institute has an in-house R&D center and a pilot plant. Giprosintez’ representatives told the future graduates about the Institute’s engineering and R&D prospects, promising projects, in-demand jobs and the employment requirements.

Giprosintez, always enthusiastic to welcome young professional engineers, currently employs many graduates of Volgograd Engineering University.

15 January, 2015 Giprosintez receives the formal Rosneft accreditation notice. For four years in a row, Giprosintez has successfully passed the accreditation procedure and been listed with Rosneft’s prospective design contractors, which enables us to bid for contracts with Rostneft and its subsidiaries all over Russia.

Письмо ОАО НК Роснефть

On 23 December, 2015 Giprosintez hosted the meeting of the Community Council with Volgograd region’s Committee of Industry and Trade, chaired by Vladimir Kabanov. The guests reviewed the year’s performance of regional industry and trade and discussed plans for 2016.

Members of the Community Council listened to the address presented by Roman Bekov, Chairman of Volgograd region’s Committee of Industry and Trade. He said that the Committee targeted the region’s businesses, including challenged ones, and the targeted work had resulted in 123 production plants involved in the cooperation. The meeting indicated that the successful collaboration between the region and the Federal Government had significantly contributed to the launch of new and import-substituting products. In 2015, over 20 projects won grants from Russia’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (for instance, Volga-Industry with its import-substituting project of crop protection chemicals production designed by Giprosintez) and the Industry Development Foundation. Thus, the winner companies had subsidies for their investment projects and funds for their research & development activities.

The progress of trade was another top issue at the meeting. According to competent authorities, Volgograd region has the third largest retail turnover in the South Federal District and the twentieth largest, nationally.

In conclusion, Mr. Kabanov emphasized that owing to aforesaid achievements the region was able to maintain adequate industrial performance indices in the challenging economic environment. He also thanked Giprosintez General Director Fedor Sokolov for hosting the meeting and noted the high work standards practiced by the Institute, recognizing it as one of the country’s few continually progressing and thriving design institutes.

Another point of the meeting’s agenda were the Committee plans for 2016. In particular, emphasized was the importance of efficient engineering education to staff the regional industry with qualified young engineers.

For info: over 11 months of 2015, the shipping volume by Volgograd region’s businesses increased by nearly RUB 100 bn from the same period a year earlier, reaching RUB 680 bn. The Industrial Production Index was 99%, which is higher than the national average (96.7 %). Between January and September 2015, the investment into production exceeded RUB 58 bn. Ten investment projects have been implemented and more than 1,200 new jobs created.

On 20 November, 2015, Shchuchye Chemical Weapons Destruction Facility 1207 (Kurgan region) saw the closing ceremony marking the completion of chemical weapons destruction task. It took just several years to annihilate more than five tons of dangerous chemical agents.

Many Russian and foreign authorities were represented at the ceremony. Thus, among the guests we had V.I. Kholstov, Director of the Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Department; A.G. Kokorin, Governor of Kurgan region; P.I. Chikishev, Head of District; V.P. Kapashin, Colonel General, Head of the Federal Directorate for Safe Storage and Destruction of Chemical Weapons; V.G. Sidorov, Counselor to General Director of Giprosintez Design Institute; V.V. Romanov, Deputy Head of the Federal Biomedical Agency; Hamid Ali Rao, Deputy Director General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons; Kenneth A. Mayers, Director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency; James Patrick Howard Harrison of the UK Ministry of Defense; military attaches of the USA, UK, Switzerland, Sweden and Norway; and other state officials from OPCW member countries.

The ceremony started with 5m stele opening at the city center. Thus, Shchuchye became home for the first monument of the kind. Later, similar stelae will be installed in other regions with operating chemical weapons destruction facilities.

For information: Shchuchye Facility designed by Girposintez was put in operation in March 2009. The project valued RUB 19 bn, with more than 50 per cent contributed by the Russian Federation and the rest, by the US, UK, Canada, France, Netherlands, New Zealand, Finland and Ireland. Schuchye held in stock 5,456t of organophosphorous chemical agents (13.7 % of Russia’s total stock). On 22 September, 2015, the last one of about two million munitions was destroyed. The Kurgan Facility became the sixth in Russia to complete the task.

It should be noted that the designers were very keen on and succeeded in making Shchuchye facility safe. The plant has not seen a single emergency throughout its operation. The Facility’s industrial safety and ecological monitoring system has shown that the war heritage destruction mechanism can run in an absolutely fail-safe mode. This has been extensively proved by the Federal Biomedical Agency, international observers and the military and civil authorities. The ecological and health monitoring has found no adverse effects on the people’s health in the recent years.

By November 2015, Russia has destroyed 92% of the chemical weapons. The remainder of the stock is being handled at Kizner CWDF in Udmurt Republic.

For reference: When the Soviet Union disintegrated, Russia was left with the world’s largest stock of chemical weapons exceeding 40 thousand t. Other former Soviet republics refused to engage in its destruction. Besides Russia, about 200 countries signed the Chemical Weapons Convention, including the US holding the second largest arsenal.

On 17 November, 2015, a new fire truck station was put in operation in Kizner settlement, the locality well known for deploying the namesake chemical weapons destruction facility.

The station was designed by Giprosintez. The construction started in 2013 was funded from the Federal Targeted Program ‘Chemical weapons destruction in the RF’.

This is a four-truck station comprising vehicle parking and maintenance facilities, training rooms and a watchtower. The station has a dedicated boiler house. The three-storey administration building accommodates a garage and the training facilities, a 25m tower and obstacle courses. Room has been provided for a 16m-long modular gas-and-smoke chamber where firemen will be trained in simulated fire conditions.

All the buildings, rooms and facilities are 100% ready for use.

The fire truck station opening ceremony became an important event for all Kizner people.

Among the guests were Igor Kondakov, Major General, deputy head of the Federal Directorate for Safe Storage and Destruction of Chemical Weapons with Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade; Viktor Savel’yev, Chairman of Udmurt Republic’s Government; representatives of Russian Ministry of Emergencies; representatives of the local authorities; Yevgeniy Makarov, head of Civil Engineering Department No. 8114; and the contractors that actually built the station. Once welcome addresses had been said and the symbolic key given to the fire truck station Chief, the guests cut the ribbon and inspected the premises.

Chemical weapons destruction facility (CWDF) Kizner (Republic of Udmurtia), to which Giprosintez is the general designer, has eliminated 44.1% of its chemical agents stock.

This was reported by Aleksandr Perunov, Deputy Minister for civil and residential policy of the Republic of Udmurtia, on 12 November this year at the chemical weapons destruction round-table conference. He said that by 10 November 44.1% of the chemical agents stock (2533.7 t) had been destroyed. Mr. Perunov added that the Kizner facility would certainly be able to fulfill the chemical weapons destruction mission set by the Government within the established time limits.

For info: The first startup complex of Russia’s seventh and last chemical weapons destruction facility in Kizner was put in operation on 19 December, 2013. Kizner CWDF handles sarin-, soman- and VX-charged munitions. In June 2015, Head of the Federal Directorate for Safe Storage and Destruction of Chemical Weapons V.P. Kapashin said to the journalists that the Kizner facility would complete chemical weapons destruction by 2019.

Saransk, the capital of Mordovia Republic, has recently seen the startup of Russia’s first optical fiber plant. This is a large import-substituting project a party to which is Giprosintez Design Institute. Our engineers contributed to design documentation development for the new plant’s startup complexes.

Till recently, 100% optical fiber on Russian market has been imported. Initial capacity of the new plant is 2.4 million kilometers telecommunication optical fiber per year, which covers 50% optical fiber demand of Russian cable producers. This import-substituting project received a total budget of RUB 2.7 billion and the highest-level support from President Putin, Russian Government and the relevant ministries of Mordovia. With so favorable inputs, the plant has been built timely and successfully, thus paving the way to other high-tech optical fiber projects. The new plant’s major product will be telecommunication fiber for communication cables. The first optical fiber samples have been tested and approved by the industry leaders Saranskkabel-Optika, Evrokabel-1 and Moskabel-Fudzhikura. So, Fiber Optic Systems is now intent on expanding optical fiber production in Russia and already holds the construction permit for the second startup complex.

Volga Industry is a crop protection chemicals producer founded by Agro Expert Group and operating on the premises of Volgograd’s Kaustik plant since 2010.

Volga Industry makes more than 50 products including water-dissolved and concentrated herbicides and insecticide emulsions. The production lines have been designed by Giprosintez Design Institute. All the products have been included in the state register of chemicals permitted for use in the Russian Federation and successfully replaced similar foreign chemicals for Volgograd farmers.

According to the regional Committee for industry and trade, in the first six months of the year the company with its current overall capacity of more than 20 thousand t/year has output more than four million liters of import-substituting products. Girposintez has designed expansion of the plant to increase insecticide production to 100 t/year, herbicide production to 100 to 300 t/year and herbicide water solutions production to 500 to 1000 t/year. Thus, Volga Industry has the ample potential to meet regional farmers’ demand for crop protections.

Another task meeting between the management of LUKOIL and Volgograd Polytechnic University took place today. The first meeting was held at the University on 8 October the previous year. Back then, LUKOIL’s Vice President for HR and organizational development Anatoliy MOSKALENKO said that the meeting would give rise to long-term cooperation between Russia’s top oil company and the educational institution. At last year’s meeting, Nikolay NIKOLAYEV, LUKOIL’s Vice President and General Director of RITEK, added that the new joint department to be established at the University would become a breakthrough event in the education of professional engineers.

And today we saw continue the dialog started a year before. Vladimir LYSAK, Rector of Volgograd Polytechnic University and corresponding member of Russian Academy of Sciences, hosted the workshop where tangible implementation of the plans and provisional decisions taken last October were discussed most enthusiastically. Guests of the meeting were Ivan NOVAKOV, president of the University and member of Russian Academy of Sciences; Vladimir VDOVIN, Deputy General Director of Volgograd-Neftepererabotka; and Fedor SOKOLOV, General Director of Giprosintez Design Institute. The parties had another opportunity to witness the tangible benefits the joint project could bring to both LUKOIL and the Polytechnic University. The meeting’s agenda was quite expansive, thus, it included the equipment of the new joint department. The parties decided to launch the new project without delay as the close cooperation of science and industry is the undeniable formula of success.

KAMAZ automobile plant (Naberezhniye Chelny, Republic of Tatarstan) is now busy revamping its logistics center. The contract for the survey and design of alkalis & acids warehouse has been awarded to Giprosintez through competitive bids. The new warehouse is to be located within KAMAZ’ existing storage facilities where alkalis, acids, coolants and foaming agents are received, stored and distributed. Materials delivery has been organized to keep the production process uninterrupted. The work is already under way.

On July 13 through 17, 2015 Giprosintez was visited by the task team appointed by RN-Yuganskneftegaz that included:

• Team leader – Sergey MARKOVSKIKH (RN-Management)
• Engineering department manager – Valentin RUDOY (RN-Management)
• Main expert of gas processing department– Aleksey MASENKIS (NK Rosneft)
• Main expert of above-ground installations department – Rinat SAITOV (RN-Yuganskneftegaz)
• Deputy supervisor of shop No. 4 – Azat IMAMOV (RN-Yuganskneftegaz)
• Lead expert – Aleksey SALOV (RN-Yuganskneftegaz).

Giprosintez’ project chief engineer Ms. A. Chizhova coordinated the team’s work in the Institute.

For their HAZOP analysis, the task team spent the week studying the design documentation prepared by Giprosintez for the tank farm of RN-Yuganskneftegaz’ Priobskoye field gas-to-liquids monetization plant. At the current project phase, HAZOP is to identify any potential drawbacks in the design concepts that can create significant risks to the personnel, environment and equipment at the later phases of design, construction, operation and liquidation of the hazardous industrial facility.

On studying the HAZOP documentation, the task team issued recommendations on prevention or reduction of potential hazards.

*for reference: the tank farm is to receive, store and fill into tank cars the natural gas liquids piped from the associated gas processing plant of Priobskoye oil field; the tank farm’s capacity will make 400,000 t/year.

* for reference: HAZOP (hazard and operability study) is a qualitative method using guide words and parameters and intended for structured and systematic examination of process or operation in order to identify and evaluate problems that may represent risks to personnel or equipment.

The Federal Directorate for Safe Storage and Destruction of Chemical Weapons announces Russia destroyed 90% of chemical warfare agents stock.

This week has seen a milestone event in the disarmament program. The Federal Directorate for Safe Storage and Destruction of Chemical Weapons of Russia’s Ministry of Industry and Trade has announced that Russia has disposed of 90% of the chemical warfare agents stock. The potentially hazardous weapons destruction process has faced no emergencies and harmed neither people nor environment.

Back in 1987, the Soviet Union ceased the production of chemical weapons and called for the global community to draw up an international agreement on total chemical disarmament. The Chemical Weapons Convention was signed by the USSR’s successor, the Russian Federation, in January, 1993. It was a difficult time of social crisis and industrial recession, so many were in doubt as to whether Russia would be able to fulfill its obligations. However, Colonel General Valeriy Kapashin, Head of the Federal Directorate, assured then that the task would be completed, and, as we see now, the promise was kept.

It should be reminded that in 1993 the US had 27,769 t chemical agents. The US embarked on the chemical disarmament program earlier and by now has destroyed 89.75% chemical warfare agents. Russia had 39,967 t chemical agents, but has already rid of 90% of the stock. To achieve this, in pursuance of the Presidential program, seven dedicated facilities have been built to eliminate chemical weapons in compliance with the most rigorous safety standards and under continuous ecological monitoring by Russian environmental agencies and the international Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

However, it is too early to use the past tense to describe the work. The remaining stock is about 4 thousand tons of chemical agents charged into munitions with a storage life expired long ago. Safety of their destruction is the principal condition of the chemical disarmament program.

At the closing stage, Russia sets about the destruction of sophisticated chemical weapons. These contain both chemical agents and explosive components that cannot be removed. Russia has built unique sophisticated chemical weapons destruction facilities, Leonidovka in Penza region, Maradykovskiy in Kirov region, and Schuche in Kurgan region (Giprosintez being General Designer for the latter). By the end of the year, these facilities together with Pochep plant in Bryansk region are to destroy the chemical agents (CA) stock almost entirely, with some CA to remain only at Kizner destruction facility (General Designer – Giprosintez) in Republic of Udmurtia. The CA complete destruction deadline has been appointed for December 2020 by Russia and September 2023 by the US.

It is also noteworthy that the program has promoted economic and social progress in the regions involved. In the course of its implementation, the Republic of Udmurtia and the Bryansk, Kirov, Kurgan, Penza and Saratov regions have seen more than 400 multi-storey residential buildings, 14 hospitals and 22 children’s educational institutions built, the power, gas, and water supply lines routed and roads renovated. Each facility offers about two thousand well-paid jobs. When the chemical weapons are successfully done away with, these high-tech plants equipped with cutting-edge computers and robots will be converted for the benefit of the regional economies.

 (Source: Trud.ru, No. 053 of 17 July, 2015)

On 4 June, 2015, Schuchye chemical weapons destruction facility designed by Giprosintez Institute hosted the roundtable meeting to discuss the 2015 closing of the RF Federal Targeted Program of chemical weapons destruction in Kurgan region. The meeting was held by the Federal Directorate for Safe Storage and Destruction of Chemical Weapons with Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Administration of Kurgan region and the local newspaper ‘Kurgan I Kurgantsy’. The meeting was opened by Viktor SUKHNEV, Deputy Governor of Kurgan region and Director of the Natural Resources and Environment Protection Department. He introduced the roundtable participants and identified the top-priority issues for discussion, such as the safety of chemical weapons destruction, ecology around Shchuchye facility, social environment, future operation and conversion of the high-tech plant and the prospects for its personnel.

Then the audience welcomed the speakers and listened to the speeches: ‘Results of the sixth year of Shchuchye facility operation’ (A. Katsenelenbogen representing the Federal Directorate for Safe Storage and Destruction of Chemical Weapons and Shchuchye facility); ‘Evaluation of the RF Federal Targeted Program of chemical weapons destruction in Kurgan region’ (S. Ketov, Head of Environmental & Social Directorate for Kurgan region)’ ‘Industrial safety monitoring at Shchuchye facility by Ural’s Rostekhnadzor’ (P. Moskvin, Deputy Head of Ural’s Rostekhnadzor; ‘Ecological safety of Shchuchye facility’ (S. Vorobyev, Head of Natural Resources Management Supervision Directorate for Kurgan region); ‘2015 Q1 environmental monitoring data for Shchuchye facility’ (T. Shingarenko, Director of regional CWDF Center, Honored Ecologist of the RF); ‘Regulatory references and organization of the state ecological monitoring during chemical weapons destruction in Shchuchye district of Kurgain region’ (F. Fetisov, Head of Kurgan Hydrometeorology and Environment Monitoring Center); ‘Public health monitoring in Shchuchye district’ (E. Ostrovskikh, Head of Adult Healthcare Management Unit of Kurgan region’s Healthcare Department); ‘Social environment and health monitoring in Shchuchye facility’s protective actions zone’ (G. Khokhlov, Head of Consumer Rights Protection and Public Welfare Service for Kurgan region). All the speakers agreed that the chemical weapons destruction process in Kurgan region progressed according to the plan without adverse influence on the natural environment and public health.

Given that 2015 Q4 is expected to see the destruction of the last chemical munitions item, Head of Shchuchye district administration Mr. Chikishev expressed the will and intention to proceed with facility decommissioning program with the existing personnel.

Republic of Udmurtia will get 1 billion and 934 million rubles from the Federal Budget to improve the social facilities in Kizner district where the chemical weapons destruction facility designed by Giprosintez is located (RF Government’s Order Np. 720-r of 25 April, 2011). ‘The funds from the Federal Budget will be allocated under the targeted program of chemical weapons destruction and used to build and renovate the listed social infrastructure facilities and utilities in Kizner district,’ state the proceedings of the Thursday meeting between Aleksandr Solovyev, Head of Udmurtia, and Valeriy Kapashin, Head of the Federal Directorate for Safe Storage and Destruction of Chemical Weapons. Referring to Mr. Kapashin, the source says that the work will start in 2016. Giprosintez is currently preparing detailed documentation for the five-storey residential building to be built in Kizner military camp.

For reference: Russia’s seventh chemical weapons destruction facility in Kizner, Udmurtia, was commissioned in December 2013 and is to operate till 2020; this is the most advanced facility of the kind globally.

This May, Tekhnopark-Mordovia is planning to proceed with commissioning and startup of Saransk fiber optic plant designed with considerable contribution from Giprosintez. 
As the government of the Republic of Mordovia reported, the fiber optic plant is to satisfy up to 30% fiber optic demand of Russian market. The plan is also to raise some 1.3 bn RUB from Sberbank of the RF to purchase the equipment for the fiber optic engineering center.

On 24 March, 2015, Giprosintez was visited by Saipem, an Italia-based company being a global leader on the engineering services market. That was a visit in the scope of the corporate vendor qualification procedure for Russian design institutes.

The eleven Saipem specialists made a walk-around of Giprosintez to get familiar with the work of our engineers. Saipem appraised favorably Giprosintez engineering capacities and capabilities. The subject of special interest of our guests was the in-house software widely used by our company to optimize the design process.

By the end of the visit, the guests expressed their willingness to discuss mutually beneficial business interests and to cooperate for the expansion of Saipem presence on the growing Russian market.

26 December, 2014 Giprosintez receives the formal Rosneft accreditation notice. For three years in a row, Giprosintez has successfully passed the accreditation procedure and been listed with Rosneft’s prospective design contractors, which enables us to bid for contracts with Rostneft and its subsidiaries all over Russia.

The chemical weapons destruction facility in Shchuchye, Kurgan region, has been operating for five years. At the end of this year, the facility is to destroy the last batch of chemical weapons. According to the regional environment management department, the facility has already processed 5,375t (98.5%) of chemical agents, including 100% sarine and soman munitions and all Vx-charged conventional artillery munitions.

Missile warhead destruction is also in progress. Experts confirm that the entire process has been efficiently monitored for environmental impact. Chemical agents destruction is expected to end by 31 December, 2015. ‘The weapons destruction stage being over, the facility safing will take another five years. The design documentation for the safing is being currently developed by Giprosintez design institute, Volgograd’, says the Directorate.

After the safing, the facility will be converted. The Governor of Kurgan region has instructed to appoint a dedicated work team to prepare proposals for the CWDF conversion into an innovative production plant.

Under RN-Yuganskneftegas’ gas program, the concept of LPG storage (Facility 153-13) designed by Giprosintez was successfully defended on 10 December, 2014, at the company’s head office. The LPG storage is to receive, store and ship by rail the natural gas liquids (at a rate of 400,000 t per year) piped from the preliminary gas processing terminal at Priobskoye field.

Giprosintez presented the plot plan divided into two functional areas, industrial and auxiliary ones, totaling 28.37 ha, and a detailed plan of construction with a focus on economic indices.

The expert review board comprising the representatives of RN-Yuganskneftegas’ Nefteyugansk and Moscow offices were encouraged by the professional expertise of the speakers and the design presentation that included a 3D video of the future facility prepared by Giprosintez specially for the event. Early next year, the design documentation approved by the customer will be submitted for expert review to Russia’s Glavgosekspertiza.

On 5 December, a delegation from VolgGASU, headed by Rector S. Kalashnikov and comprising professors and lead teachers, visited Giprosintez. At the meeting with Giprosintez’ General Director F.P. Sokolov, a number of professional issues were covered. Interaction points were identified in many areas, including probation of VolgGASU students and the setup of VolgGASU engineering departments’ subdivisions at Giprosintez, joint work on environmental, plumbing, design simulation and other professional topics, and advance training of Giprosintez employees at VolgGASU.

At the meeting, the parties agreed on mutually beneficial future cooperation. Joint projects were planned for the nearest future.

Our customer Neftezavodmontazh, Volgograd, expressed satisfaction with Giprosintez work that consisted in the development of isometric drawings for their electric desalter plant.

Volga Industry and Giprosintez signed the contract for crop protection chemicals plant design. The project is part of the multistage upgrade program for the existing factory.

Volga Industry is a subsidiary of Agro Expert Group, a Russian company producing and marketing pesticides and herbicides for more than 11 years. The new production facility will comprise a number of unique 100 t/year insecticide plants, 100 t/year and 300 t/year herbicide plants, and 500 t/year and 1,000 t/year herbicide solution plants. The design also provides several customized packing lines.

Lukoil is a critical strategic partner for Volgograd region, sustained beneficial collaboration with which is crucial. This was pointed out by Volgograd Governor Andrey Bocharov at the recent meeting with Lukoil Chairman Vagit Alekperov in Moscow.

The principal collaboration area is the industry. Thus, a large refinery upgrade project is currently being implemented. This year, Volgograd refinery launched the lubes production with the packaging line designed by Giprosintez. The investment has totaled RUR 1.4 billion, more than 100 high-tech jobs have been created. The production capacity can reach 30 thousand t of product a year.

‘This enterprise is our contribution to the import replacement program; Volgograd region is to produce about one hundred high-quality home-made materials including some unique ones exceeding similar foreign products’, stated Andrey Bocharov.

Further enhancement of Volgograd Refinery was discussed at the meeting, namely, the putting in operation of a new plant to increase feedstock processing rate by one third and the construction of the vacuum gas oil deep conversion plant for 1.5 increase of motor fuel output. Giprosintez will participate in the design activities on this major upgrade project. The work is already under way. ‘This is the new level for the regional industry, social and environmental efficiency’, explained the Governor. He made it clear that the regional authorities would back up such promising projects.

November 16 is the Designer Day. Though informal, this professional event has become popular among design institutions nationwide. On November 14, Giprosintez congratulated the personnel in advance. Each employee received a personal souvenir with Giprosintez logo.

The detailed photo report can be found on our pages on the social networks VKontakte and Facebook.

Giprosintez congratulates all design engineers on this important professional event and wishes them lots of challenging projects and professional advancements!

In late October, the production process at Khimprom factory was stopped. Roman Bekov, Minister of Industry in Volgograd region, spoke about the prospects for the closed production facility. The minister said that the regional administration addressed Russia’s Ministry of Nature to have Khimprom included in the 2012-2016 Federal Program for accumulated environmental damage mitigation.

By now, the closing and pre-liquidation plan has been developed in pursuance of Governmental Decree No. 1258 of 26 December, 2013. Part of the plan are the safing measures designed by Giprosintez. ‘Participation in the Program must help to safe and prepare the site for conversion. A number of investors, including Russian and foreign ones, expressed their interest in deploying new chemical production processes there.

It is evident that operating Khimprom in its present-day condition would be harmful for the people living in Volgograd’s southern districts’, explained Mr. Bekov. The safing of Khimprom site is supposed to take 1.5 to 2 years. The cost of the work amounts to dozens billion rubles.

Under the renovation plan, Gazprom-ONPZ, Omsk, is beginning the upgrade of plant L-35/11-1000 to incorporate a continuous catalyst regeneration vent gas treatment system. Giprosintez is developing the design and working documentation. The plant to be renovated comprises two units, reforming and hydro-treating, and produces reformate (high-octane component of petroleum with up to 102 octane number).

The feedstock processing capacity amounts to 1 mn t/year. The upgrade measures shall decrease chlorides makeup to 70% and take purified gas HCL concentration down to ? 50 ppm.

On October 17, the public consultations took place to discuss pre-project preparations to the feasibility study amendment for the safing of the chemical weapons destruction facility in Gorny, Saratov region, including environmental impact assessment (EIA).

The consultations were held in Mikhailovskiy settlement of Saratov region. The Customer for the design documentation and EIA is the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation. The documentation has been developed by Giprosintez, Volgograd.

The public consultations were attended by the Federal Directorate for Safe Storage and Destruction of Chemical Weapons, public organizations and the citizens of the settlements Mikhailovskiy and Gorny.

Design documentation developers explained to the audience the safing measures to be implemented, for instance, the construction of the new thermal deactivation building, the decontamination and disassembly of equipment and structures, and the soil remediation procedures. The safing methodology is based on innovative technologies and best practices. The work costs over RUR 1 bn.

Giprosintez representatives spoke about the expected environmental impact of the safing activities. They demonstrated that the environmental impact would be reduced to the minimum due to efficient emission/discharge treatment systems and environmentally friendly design practices. It was pointed out that the safing would be subject to continuous ecological monitoring.

It is notable that the project will have favorable employment effects as the number of jobs will grow from 292 to 581. The topics to be discussed were available for all stakeholders in the counseling office in Mikhailovskiy settlement administration building since September 15, 2014.

No principal objections were faced, the public consultations procedure was in conformity to applicable regulations.

A major renovation project for Sovetskaya Square in Volgograd’s Voroshilovskiy district has begun.

Today the Square is undergoing large-scale improvement according to the pre-approved design. The improvement project was presented at the regional contest. 3D visualization of the project was done by Giprosintez.

This August, the winners were identified, with the above-mentioned design among them. As Volgograd’s administration informed, a ‘flush-mounted’ fountain would be constructed in the Square, with water jetting out directly from the ground.

The place will be paved with paving slabs, more benches and litter bins, lawns with a watering system and a stage for open-air performances will be arranged. With the leisure zone expanded and the fountain as its main attraction, the Square will acquire a completely new look.

Volgorad has seen the opening of the INTESMO lubes plant, a joint venture of LLK-International (100% owned subsidiary of Lukoil) and Russian Railroads. Giprosintez participated in the designing of the plant.

The plant is situated at the property of Lukoil-Volgogradneftepererabotka. The plant will produce 30 thousand t lubes per year at the five semi-automatic production lines and fill the lubes into various containers, such as barrels, 20-, 10-, and 5-liter buckets, 1- and 0.5-liter cans, 10-ml tubes.

On 9 October, 2014, Governor of Volgograd region Andrey Bocharov held a meeting to discuss the reorganization of Khimprom Plant. Employees of the closing factory are to receive more than RUR 430 mn as employment termination indemnity. About 4.5 thousand people work at Khimprom today. The plan is to launch new productions on the premises of Khimprom.

However, the facility is subject to prior safing given that huge amounts of poisonous waste have been accumulated during the years of processing highly hazardous chemicals. The waste shall be disposed of using specialty technologies that cannot be applied before the production process is stopped in all workshops. It should be noted that Giprosintez, in pursuance of Governmental Decree No. 1258 of 26 December, 2013, has developed some shutdown and pre-liquidation measures for Khimprom to minimize the amounts of hazardous chemicals and reduce power consumption to 9MW.

The safing program is expected to engage most today’s employees of Khimprom. By now, two Khimprom conversion variants have been proposed. The first variant is to create a large chemical cluster in cooperation with the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The second variant implies attracting investors to set up several production plants on the premises of Khimprom. The meeting decided to change the facility’s top management in the nearest future.

On 12 to 14 September, 2014, Mordovexpocenter, Saransk, hosted XIX International Exhibition ‘Business Mordivia 2014’. Showcases of agricultural, industrial and civil companies from Russia and other countries were demonstrated there. The event focused on fiber optic production. The FO plant designed by Giprosintez and built at the property of Optical Fiber Systems is Russia’s first import-replacing facility in the FO segment and therefore a critical strategic project. The work is under way, the completion is planned for the end of 2014.

On 25 September, Khimprom is reported to have suspended operations because of discontinued gas supply for considerable overdue energy payments. Volgorad region’s authorities do not comment on the situation but confirm that the plant continues operating, though at reduced production rates, and that the plant’s alleged unattractiveness for investors is not quite true to fact.

‘I can say that negotiations with potential investors are under way. There are some realistic and interesting proposals, but it is too early to disclose investor details and investment figures’, explained Minister of Industry of Volgograd region Roman Bekov in the interview to a regional media agency.

It should be reminded that late in August 2014 Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade approved the Khimprov reconstruction plan, to which Giprosintez Design Institute was one of contributors, submitted by Volgograd region. The plan provided maximum utilization of existing capacities, the calcium carbide, polyvinyl chloride and khladon productions. At the same time, the facility shall undergo restructuring, overhaul and energy costs optimization.

The rumor of Khimprom’s imminent shutdown has turned out rather exaggerated. The facts are that the 380 mn rubles for social assistance to the personnel will be allocated and the facility reorganization and conversion projects remain valid.

Giprosintez has finished the reconstruction of the internet site. The new site is visitor-friendly, information for potential customers and partners is easy to find. On the new site, you can find complete actual information about us and our work. Up-to-date description of our specialty products and services, valid permits and certificates, references and news are available here. We are working towards improvement and interactive upgrade of the site and will be happy to receive your comments! http://www.giprosintez.ru/About/Licenses

Microsoft Rus has an extensive clientele, and Giprosintez is a key customer. At the recent meeting with Microsoft Rus for Southern Federal District, new outlooks have been identified to expand Giprosintez capacities.

On 8 to 12 September, 2014, Khimprom Volgograd was re-audited under the international audit program of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons as required by Article VI of the Convention on prohibiting development, production, accumulation and use of chemical weapons and the weapons destruction.

OPCW auditors inspected some production capacities, including the alkylsulfonates and paraffin wax production lines designed by Giprosintez. The auditors had no negative findings.

On 26 August, 2014, Volgograd region submitted to Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade the Khimprom modernization plan. The meeting held in Moscow was chaired by Deputy Minister Sergey Tsyba and attended by Volgograd Acting Governor Andrey Bocharov and the representatives of the regional government, GK Rostekhnologii and Khimprom, and the leading experts of the chemical industry.

The plan was based on Giprosintez’ proposal for setting up new production lines to produce competitive products and improve Khimprom’s economic, ecological and technical conditions. The final decision on Khimprom reconstruction will be made by Vice Prime Minister Arkadiy Dvorkovich on reviewing the submitted documentation package.

On 15 October, 2014, public consultations will be held in the administration building of Mikhailovskiy settlement to discuss the environmental impact assessment data to supplement the feasibility study developed by Giprosintez for the liquidation of the chemical weapons destruction facility in Gorny, Saratov region.

18 sep 2014

Giprosintez now has a page on VKontakte social network. Therefore, we are even more available now! Do not hesitate to subscribe and befriend us, follow our news, keep up with events together with us! Visit us on: http://vk.com/giprosintez