History

VNIGRI (All Russia Petroleum Research Exploration Institute), based in St Petersburg, is the oldest petroleum institute in Russia. It was founded in 1929 as the first petroleum geological centre of the country, providing the scientific basis for oil and gas exploration.

VNIGRI is a founder of different research methods in Russian petroleum geology, such as exploration geophysics and well logging, micro-bio-stratigraphic correlation by wells, study of reservoir of complex type, chemical bitumen research of fossilized organic matter and modeling of organic matter lithogenesis, infrared and ultraviolet spectroscopy of hydrocarbons, mathematical modeling of geological processes, etc. The method of paleomagnetic stratigraphic correlation of sedimentary strata was founded in VNIGRI, a new original technology of development of heavy oil and natural bitumen fields was proposed.

VNIGRI is a founder and creator of a system of scientific organizations of the Russian oil and gas branch. Such large scientific-research institutions as VNIGNI (All-Russian Research Institute of Oil Geology) and VNIIneft (All-Russian Oil and Gas Research Institute) in Moscow, SNIIGGIMS (Siberian Research Institute of Geology, Geophysics and Mineral Resources) in Novosibirsk, ZapSibNIGNI (West Siberian Scientific-Research Gas-Petroleum Institute) in Tyumen, or even UkrNIGRI (Ukrainian Scientific-Research Institute for Geological Exploration) in Lviv, Ukraine, and many others have been developed from VNIGRI's departments and regional branches.

VNIGRI's specialists created the fundamentals for development of oil and gas industry in Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine; and made significant contribution to the study and development of oil and gas fields of Albania, Afghanistan, Algeria, Morocco, Iran, China, Cuba, etc.

During the 80-year VNIGRI history 120 PhD and 450 doctoral dissertations were defended, 17 scientists were elected to the Academy of Sciences of the USSR and the Russian Academy of Sciences, to the International Geological Societies and were proposed honorary doctor of foreign universities.

24 VNIGRI's specialists were awarded Lenin and State, Government and academic awards of the USSR and Russia; 87 - Orders and medals of the USSR and Russia, and medals of foreign countries; 48 copyright certificates on inventions and discoveries were registered.

VNIGRI was awarded the Order of the URSS Red Banner of Labor for contribution to creation of raw material base for oil and gas industry and training of scientific personnel.