The rapidly developing Arctic needs breakthrough technology and outstanding engineering solutions more than ever, and Russian shipbuilding goes hand in hand with the development of that territory. These were just a couple of the many topics discussed at OMR 2022, an international exhibition and conference on shipbuilding and high technology for development of Russia’s Arctic and continental shelf, which took place in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
The event brought together Russia’s leading companies active in developing the continental shelf and implementing large oil and gas projects, government representatives, and scientists to discuss the most important aspects of the Arctic development.

PLENARY SESSION
The plenary session discussed the strategic goals and objectives of shipbuilding and engineering and technological support for the developing of hydrocarbon resources in Russia’s Arctic and continental shelf.
Talks on the main results of the companies' work and objectives and activities related to the current strategic challenges in the Arctic were given by Oleg Aksyutin, deputy chair of the board for Gazprom; Maxim Kulinko, deputy director of the Directorate of the Northern Sea Route and director of the Department for the Development of the Northern Sea Route and Coastal Territories of the Rosatom State Corporation; Oleg Andreev, deputy head of the Production Department of Gazprom; Vasily Boytsov, deputy CEO for innovative and technological development of United Shipbuilding Corporation; Alexey Oryshchenko, general director of Kurchatov Institute and Prometey Central Research Institute of Structural Materials; and Tatyana Russkova, minister of Arctic and economic development of Murmansk Oblast. The plenary session was moderated by Mikhail Grigoryev, a member of the Scientific Council under the Security Council of Russia and director of Gekon.
At the end of the session, an award ceremony was held for the winners and laureates of the International Competition for Scientific, Research, Technology, and Innovative Solutions Aimed at Developing and Exploring the Arctic and the Continental Shelf, supported by the Government of Russia.
CONFERENCE PROGRAM
The forum program spanned four days and featured a series of roundtables, discussions, and consultations involving leading industry experts on shipbuilding, navigation via the Northern Sea Route, operation of offshore facilities under difficult ice conditions, transportation of hydrocarbons, digitalization of business processes, navigation and communication in northern waters, marine medicine, and industrial and environmental safety in the Arctic.
For the first time, the Youth Session (traditional for the OMR forum) covered three areas, highlighting the role of young scientists and students in designing promising technology for the development of hydrocarbon resources of the Arctic continental shelf and ship and ocean equipment as well as in building a health-care talent pool for the Arctic and remote regions. (Hosted by Gazprom VNIIGAZ, Saint Petersburg State Marine Technical University, the Arctic, Marine, and Diving Medicine Association, and Restec. The sponsor for the session was Gazprom Dobycha Shelf Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.)
The 2022 conference program saw the participation of over 700 professionals.
The conference featured several discussion panels on a variety of topics that ran simultaneously, making it possible to address many important issues in the development of the Arctic and attend and discuss a total of 174 talks.

EXHIBITION
Conference topics were illustrated by an exhibition featuring engineering solutions for the creation and operation of a modern fleet and promising techniques and equipment for the advancement of the shelf infrastructure as well as new materials for the development of the transport system in the Arctic.
The Joint Booth for Enterprises of a City on the Neva, organized by the Saint Petersburg Government as represented by the Saint Petersburg Committee for Arctic Affairs, stole the interest of specialist attendees.
More than 60 industry enterprises took part in the OMR 2022 exhibition. Besides the Saint Petersburg display, regional displays of Arkhangelsk and Leningrad Oblasts were presented alongside those of the Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex, Far Eastern Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Center, Sevmash, Middle Neva Shipbuilding Plant, Afrikantov OKB Mechanical Engineering, Iceberg Central Design Bureau, Lazurit Central Design Bureau, Uralmash Oil and Gas Equipment Holding, Kurchatov Institute, VNIIOkeangeologiya, Yuzhmorgeologiya, Cable Alliance Holding, PSS Corporation, Special Vehicles Fire Engine Factory, Engineering Physics Institute, Technopol, Propulsion System Center under the Zvezdochka Ship Repair Center, and others.
Attendees had a hands-on opportunity to see projects, products, techniques, and services now being implemented or to be implemented in the Arctic. Exhibits included models of the Project 10 570 multifunctional nuclear-powered vessel, the Project 10 070 LNG tanker, a manned underwater vehicle now being built at the Sevmash shipyard to order of Gazprom Transgaz Saint Petersburg, a passenger ship of the A45−90.2 series, an oceanographic station for unmanned underwater vehicles, a next-generation deep-sea manipulator, the Amnis hydrometeorological buoy, a digital simulator for training sailors and fishing-fleet specialists, and much more.
The exhibition attracted the attention of around 8,000 specialists, representatives of scientific and business communities, federal and local authorities, and developers and designers of equipment and technical systems for shipbuilding, the development of Russian water areas, and the development of marine, transport, and energy infrastructure of the continental shelf.

NETWORKING
A technical workshop was organized for participants of the OMR 2022 forum with a visit to the Krylov State Research Center.
The exhibition featured the Presentation Area and the Import Substitution Exchange.
Gazprom Neft Shelf, Gazprom Neft Shipping, Gazpromneft Snabzhenie, and the Omsk Innovative Technology Plant each presented their needs for domestic products. A total of 67 suppliers took part in the exchange. (Hosted by
the Committee for Industrial Policy, Innovation, and Trade of Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg Center for the Development and Support of Entrepreneurship, a national SME project called My Business, and Restec.)

The OMR forum is held under the Ordinance of the Government of Russia dated March 1, 2014 (No. 294-р) and the directive by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak (No. АН-П51−6930 dated April 26, 2022) and is coordinated by the Ministry of Energy of Russia and the Russian Academy of Sciences. The event sees active participation from leading Russian companies involved in developing the continental shelf and implementing major oil and gas projects. In 2022, OMR joined the Saint Petersburg International Gas Forum.
According to the participants, OMR 2022 is invariably distinguished by the high relevance of topics, participants from a wide range of locations, presentations by top-level speakers, interesting exhibitions, and the support of federal and local executive authorities.

The event enjoys the support of:
General sponsor: Gazprom
Roundtable sponsor: Gazprom Neft Shelf
Sponsor for the Arctic and Marine Medicine roundtable: Medplant
Sponsor for the Youth Session: Gazprom Dobycha Shelf Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk
The official news agency for the event is the Federal News Agency.