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Gazpromneft-Lubricants LLC, a subsidiary of Gazprom Neft, says it recently carried out oil spill response exercises at Big Port St Petersburg and Murmansk.

The exercises were designed to test the preparedness of the company's teams to respond to spills during the delivery of marine oils to merchant ships at berth.

The Russian supplier says it went through various oil spill scenarios during the exercises. Following the drills, a committee of experts, which comprised representatives of the port administration and the 'Emergency Control Ministry' (EMERCOM), said the experience and skills of Gazpromneft-Lubricants staff were able to ensure that vessels are supplied with oils in a safe manner.

"Strict adherence to the safety precautions is one of the major priorities of our company," remarked Alexander Trukhan, CEO of Gazpromneft-Lubricants.

"When performing bunkering from berth, we ensure the process in such a manner that [the] possibility of emergencies is extremely low. And we understand that safety may only be guaranteed by the complete preparedness that our specialists have in any abnormal environment. For this very reason we carry out training and drilling sessions on [a] regular basis," Trukhan added.

Gazpromneft Lubricants specialises in the production and sale of oils, lubricants and service fluids. Established in 2007, it has five production facilities throughout Russia, Italy and Serbia. Total production volumes stand at 500,000 tonnes of premium oils, lubricants and service fluids per year.

According to the firm, last year it was Russia's leading supplier of marine oils by volume with a market share of 26 percent, following a threefold increase in sales from 2,500 tonnes in 2014 to 8,000 tonnes last year.

Contracts entered into with customers including Sovcomflot, Norilsk Nickel, Far East Shipping Company (FESCO), FSUE Rosmorport and CJSC Rosnefteflot are said to have helped increase the company's client portfolio by 50 percent.

Gazpromneft Lubricants is also a partner of Chevron's oils supply network. Chevron marine oils are now available at more than 600 ports worldwide, including major Russian ports. Texaco-branded marine oils are produced under licence from Chevron Marine Lubricants (CML) at Gazpromneft Lubricants' facilities in Italy and Russia. Texaco marine oils are produced from Russian base oils approved by CML laboratories using Chevron Oronite additives under CML technologies.

Inspection of bunker vessel to win contract

Earlier this month, Bunker Index reported that Gazprom Neft's bunkering business, Gazpromneft Marine Bunker LLC, had been rewarded with a contract to supply marine fuel to vessels operated by Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Ltd (STASCO) in the Black Sea region.

The awarding of the contract was a long, detailed process that included a vetting inspection carried out by representative of Shell International Shipping on board the Gazpromneft Omsk, which supplies ships in the Black Sea. Only then was the Russian vessel given the go-ahead to supply fuel ordered by STASCO.