MOSCOW, May 5. /TASS/. Gazprom Neft has initiated cargo transportation in the Arctic by driverless trucks, the Russian oil producer said on Friday.
"First driverless Kamaz [trucks] started trips on the Vostochno-Messoyakhskoe Field situated on the Gydan Peninsula in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District. The use of driverless motor transport will improve efficiency of logistics at northern fields of the company and will increase supplies of required equipment and materials," Gazprom Neft said.
Vehicles are carrying cargo over the 140-km long winter road from a standalone oilfield to Tazovsky settlement. Vehicles are fitted with several types of sensors making a digital road map, scanning objects in front, identifying obstacles within the 200-meter radius and registering stationary and moving objects. The driverless column is controlled using the Russian software.
"In 2023, we will be ready to offer a service of providing driverless transportation not merely for Gazprom Neft but for other Russian industrial companies also," chief executive of Gazpromneft-Snabzhenie Dmitry Potapov said.