Today, at JSC Gazprom’s Headquarters, Alexander Ananenkov, Deputy Chairman of Gazprom’s Management Committee and Georgy Shpak, Governor of the Ryazan Region have sealed a five-year Accord to convert motor vehicles and agricultural machinery to natural gas. The Accord was sealed to promote the Gas Supply Contract signed earlier.

Under the Accord, the parties will jointly get involved in converting transport, road building, residential, agricultural and other vehicles & machinery to natural gas as well as in constructing natural gas fuelling stations and other gas motor infrastructure in the Ryazan region.

The parties agreed to develop and endorse plans of measures for the re-equipment of the Ryazan region’s motor vehicles with natural gas-driven engines, taking into consideration interests and capabilities of each of the parties.

Gazprom will take part in said activities in compliance with its investment programs.

Contracting organizations will be identified through bidding procedures.

In pursuance of the Accord, the Ryazan region’s Government will arrange for the preparation and contribute to accelerating the enactment by the Regional Duma of legislative acts targeted at bolstering the use of natural gas as motor fuel, and will come up with similar legislation under the authority granted.

Additionally, the Government will take under its control (as stipulated by regional targeted programs) the conversion to natural gas of the budget-sponsored companies and the training process of engineers, technicians and drivers for the operation & maintenance of natural gas-powered vehicles and equipment.

Furthermore, adequate measures will be taken to speed up the decision making by local authorities on the allocation of favorably-priced land for natural gas fuelling stations and other gas motor infrastructure building sites.

Reference:

In 2005, the Ryazan region hosted two prominent events dedicated to the expansion of natural gas use on motor vehicles: a joint session of the RF Government and [Independent Partnership] Russian Gas Society’s commissions, dedicated to the use of natural and liquefied petroleum gas as motor fuel and the All-Russian Exhibition-Demonstration ‘Russian Field Day 2005’.

At present, the Ryazan region is operating three automated gas fuelling compressor stations (two in the city of Ryazan and one in the town of Kasimov), with five mobile gas refuellers used to expand the AGFCS servicing zone.

In 1998, pressurized natural gas (PNG) sales through the Ryazan region’s AGFCS totaled 170 thousand cu m, increasing 39fold to 6,608 thousand cu m in 2004 (a 52 percent jump versus 2003).

As of the end 2004, the Ryazan region’s overall PNG-driven motor vehicles exceeded 700 units, with the Kasimov, Ryazan ?3, Shatsk, Sapozhok, Skopin and Ryazhsk forwarding companies finding themselves at the forefront of the conversion-to-natural gas process. Natural gas-driven engines are also being used on vehicles and equipment of the Ryazan specialized street cleaning company and Kasimov household sector.

Gazprom, the Ryazan region’s authorities and Russia’s Agriculture Ministry have so far launched a pilot project aiming to convert agricultural machinery to natural gas.

Under Gazprom’s experts’ estimates, at least ten low- and medium-capacity AGFCSs need to be constructed in the Ryazan region in the short- and midterm.

Gazprom and the Ryazan region first entered into a Cooperation Agreement in February 2000. To promote the Agreement, the parties sealed a Gas Supply Contract in January 2003.

In 2004, Gazprom provided regional customers with some 4.5 bcm of gas and roughly the same amount is slated for 2005.

The natural gas supply infrastructure of the Ryazan region is developed by 67.5% of maximum demand, including by 87.9%, in cities, towns & localities and 34.2%, in rural area (the identical Russia-averaged parameters account for 53%, 60% and 34.7%, respectively). In accordance with its programs on gas supplies to the RF constituents between 2002 and 2004, Gazprom channeled RUR 268.95 mln to construct gas distribution grids in the Ryazan region.

DIVISION OF RELATIONS WITH MASS MEDIA