Conference organisers:

Gazprom Neft SIBUR Holding

Supported by:

Federal Road Agency (Rosavtodor) Russian Highways State Company (Avtodor)

Co-partner

RN-Bitumen

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The conference “Bitumen and Polymer-Bitumen Binders. Agenda for 2017” focusing on the key road construction topics was held in St Petersburg in early April. Representatives of government agencies, producers and consumers of bitumen and polymer-bitumen binders discussed the latest changes and improvements in the regulatory and technical requirements in the Customs Union and looked into how those products are used in Russia and abroad. The conference was centred around practical application of innovative solutions in the road construction industry, improvement of bitumen materials and ways to bring the road service life between repairs up to the latest standards.

Dmitry Orlov, CEO of Gazprom Neft Bitumen Materials, said that the quality of bitumen materials is key for the durability and strength of the road pavement. “We are happy that our focus on binders as a key asphalt component and their most advanced global production technologies has been supported by the road industry professionals and has been enjoying their growing attention over the recent years. Solutions elaborated by the conference participants find practical application in road construction in Russia,” he said.

Igor Levitin, Aide to the President of the Russian Federation who also took part in the discussion, commented on the importance of the conference as a platform for professional interaction required to implement President Putin’s instruction to increase the time between road repairs to 12 years and to bring at least 85% of the federal road network in line with regulatory requirements by 2019.

Pavel Sterzhanov, CEO of RN Bitumen, highlighted the need for dialogue between professionals of the road construction and adjacent industries with government agencies. “Constructive interaction of the road building and oil industries, the use of modern approaches, investment in production facility upgrades and innovative technologies and set-up of storage and transportation systems with no loss of product quality are the priorities of our collaboration, with the ultimate target of building safe and quality roads,” he said.

Igor Astakhov, Deputy Head of the Federal Road Agency, noted that targeted work to improve the quality of bitumen binders is already ongoing. Modernisation of refineries and joint efforts of road building and oil processing companies have brought about the production high-tech bitumen with new operational properties.

According to Pavel Lyakhovich, member of the Management Board and Managing Director of SIBUR’s Plastics and Organic Synthesis Division, the use of polymers in road pavements helps increase the time between repairs and the industry has already appreciated their advantages. “We see a rise in consumption of thermoplastic elastomers in road construction, which is directly linked to the growing popularity of polymer-bitumen binders,” he said. “We are happy to see polymer-bitumen binders being used in the construction of roads for many landmark facilities and are ready to bring the most advanced products to the market while also providing consulting support to producers of polymer-bitumen binders in terms of recipe selection and production process monitoring.”

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