The oil company is building a facility where it will begin producing sorbents—substances used in the process of extracting lithium from formation water in oil fields. As Nail Maganov, CEO of Tatneft, explained yesterday during the Tatarstan Oil Summit, the new plant’s capacity will reach 30,000 metric tons per year, according to RBC.

The company already has the industrial technology for lithium extraction, and the use of sorbents has been tested. The valuable component will be extracted from fields in Tatarstan, as well as at production sites outside the republic.

“Tatneft” has launched the process of extracting this associated component from its wells, and it is already yielding practical results, emphasized the head of the oil and gas holding company.

Earlier, at the May summit of the “Exploration and Production” business division in the Aznakaevsky District of Tatarstan, Tatneft demonstrated its cutting-edge developments for oil production. Among them, industry experts were shown the operation of a lithium extraction unit at a booster pumping station.

In June, Gazprom Neft announced the launch of a pilot project to extract lithium from associated water. The company plans to begin extracting valuable elements from produced water at the Orenburg oil and gas condensate field by 2028, with the support of regional authorities. Gazprom Neft will prepare engineering and technical documentation, select the optimal technological solutions, and identify a site for the construction of the production facility.