60 years of the Samotlor field: from history to modern technologies

29 May marks the 60th anniversary of the discovery of the Samotlor oil and gas field, one of the largest in the world. Its history began in May 1965, when the R-1 exploration well on the swampy Lake Samotlor produced the first oil.

Despite its advanced age, Samotlor remains a key site on Russia's energy map, occupying a special place in the concept of "smart fields". It was here in 2010 that the first tests of ZALA UAVs, designed specifically for aerial monitoring of linear facilities and infrastructure of fuel and energy companies, took place. The technology was highly appreciated by the customer and was subsequently scaled up nationwide.

Today, ZALA unmanned aircraft systems equipped with multifunctional payloads and updated software provide continuous monitoring and data analysis, allowing to automate processes and promptly detect changes at oil and gas production and transportation facilities.

Samotlor was one of the first fields where ZALA successfully tested a laser methane detector and optical gas detection system. Today, these technologies are used not only at Samotlor but also at numerous other fields across the country, enabling the detection and localisation of methane leaks that remain invisible to the eye and traditional gas alarms.

We congratulate the specialists working at the field on this important historical date. We wish Samotlor to continue to be the flagship of the industry, setting high standards of efficiency and environmental friendliness.