Russian state oil giant Gazprom has teamed up with refiner Axens and research and training centre IFP to develop new gas liquefaction technology.

Ria Novosti reports that the deal was agreed upon in St Petersburg and will result in the establishment of the new Gazprom-Liquefin trademark.

"This advanced technology will enable us to reduce our dependence on external suppliers, produce LNG equipment in Russia, train domestic specialists in using the relevant know-how, and promote Gazprom's image of a global energy company," said Vlada Rusakova, Gazprom head for corporate development, science and ecology administration, commenting on the deal.

Axens is a wholly owned subsidiary of IFP and it specialises in energy conversion technology, including oil, coal, gas and biomass conversion.

IFP is a French environmental technology firm that has a longstanding expertise in innovation in the oil and gas sector.

The organisation recently took home first place in the Petroleum Geosciences competition organised by IBA World.

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