If implemented, this technology can make a real revolution in geological exploration.
Young scientists from the St. Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics (ITMO) are working on a laser device, which will greatly aid in geological exploration of oil and gas fields.
As the project manager Sergey Kashcheev has informed, the device may become available for geologists within 3-5 years.
"I believe that within 3-5 years it is realistic to make the device suitable for field application, with an appropriate methodology and software developed," -  Mr. Kashcheev said at a press conference held in St. Petersburg on the occasion of the International "Global Energy" Award.
The scientists were able to advance in the development of this system thanks to the grant of the All-Russian Competition of Youth Research Projects in the Field of Energy - "Energy of Youth" – won by them in 2015.
"Support in the form of the grant made it possible to solve the issues of modeling the most critical nodes, develop software applications for the processing of sounding results, and conduct technical and economic assessment of the results of introducing technology into the real sector of economy," - Mr. Kashcheev said.
The developers also managed to conduct one of the key experiments on detecting the substances - field indicators, which "are inevitably present in the surface layer of the atmosphere above the deposit”, as the scientist explained.
"The discovery of this aureole, the so-called anomaly, enables us to infer with a high degree of probability about the presence or absence of deposits in the search area," – he pointed out.
Using the laser scanner will make it possible to monitor remotely with the device installed on an aircraft.
"It does not require highly qualified personnel, since we originally planned this device fully automated, so that it could be simply installed on a helicopter, and the obtained information processed afterwards” – Mr. Kashcheev explained. Thanks to this fact the scanner can be used in remote areas, including the shelf. As Igor Lobovsky, president of the Global Energy Association, said at the press conference, "If implemented, this technology can make a revolution in geological exploration”.
According to Sergey Kashcheev, "the system being developed has no analogues in the world. Once this device is put into operation, it will be necessary to produce 10-12 complexes a year to meet market needs", he predicted. At the same time, he mentioned that the technology is not yet ready for implementation in the real sector of economy - certain work is required to bring the mockup test sample to the stage of pre-production model, which can be tested and then put into mass production – and all of that requires additional funding.