Russian Scientists to Showcase the Newest Corrosion-proof Technologies at EUROCORR

OGE spoke with Alexander Muradov, doctor of Engineering, professor and a vice-principal at RGUNG, about the importance of the congress for Russia’s oil and gas industry and about the apparent dependency between efficient anti-corrosion technology and economic indicators in the industry.

OGE: The upcoming EUROCORR Congress is high on the list of key international events in the corrosion protection industry. Could you elaborate on the global status of the event and on the practical value it could bring to meeting the challenges in the industry?
Muradov: EUROCORR is an annual congress run by the European Federation of Corrosion (EFC). The Federation, established in 1955, now brings together over 25,000 experts and white-collar workers engaged in fighting corrosion in Europe and worldwide. The U.S.-based National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE) and the World Corrosion Organization (WCO) also help host the event. EUROCORR is one of the largest events in the industry. It is called “European” but in essence, for the corrosion protection industry, this congress is an event of the highest global level. So far, 53 countries have confirmed their places (usually the congress is attended by about 80 states, including American and Asian countries).
The 2007 general assembly of the European Federation of Corrosion decided that the 2010 EUROCORR Congress will take place in Moscow.
The congress will be accompanied by an industry exhibition spread over a 1,200-square-meter site, which is enough space for up to 50 companies. We’ve already had a number of visits from EFC Secretariat offices in London, Paris and Frankfurt. The last visit was on April 12, when the delegation inspected the site and its compliance with safety requirements, which are traditionally strict for events of such a level.

OGE: This is the first time Russia has been entrusted with organizing such a top-level congress. What does it mean for the country and for the industry?
Muradov: Our meeting with the international anti-corrosion community here, in Russia, is very important. The majority of our state-financed bodies have rather little cash, and many Russian scientists with top-level research projects simply can’t afford business trips abroad. The congress runs for five days. We’ve already enlisted support from the Russian Federal Assembly and the Ministry of Science and Education.
Corrosion and associated problems are relevant to virtually every sector of the economy; degradation is equally destructive and dangerous for any facility, be it upstream equipment, or historic monuments, or a spacecraft. That is why the motto of EUROCORR 2010 is – “From the Earth’s Depths to the Heights of Space.”
Corrosion doesn’t simply mean the decay of metal, it also encompasses man-made and environmental disasters. The oil and gas industry is particularly vulnerable to corrosion – the industry’s facilities contain a lot of metal and any mistake in protecting that metal against corrosion carries sky high costs – not merely in terms of material losses, but also in terms of human casualties and environmental disasters. We hope that the Congress will draw the attention of the state, business executives