Today, St. Petersburg has hosted a working meeting between Alexey Miller, Gazprom’s Management Committee Chairman and Valery Serdyukov, Governor of the Leningrad Region.

The parties looked into the implementation of an Agreement and Accord on cooperation between Gazprom and the Leningrad Region, addressing, in particular, the North-European gas pipeline construction and gas supply outlook for the Region.

Alexey Miller emphasized that “in contrast to a plenty of other constituents, the Leningrad Region was maintaining a very high level of payments for the gas supplied by Gazprom, with the budget-sponsored, industrial and residential sectors not being an exception. Gazprom will certainly take all this into account when planning its operations in the Region, including when further implementing its gas supply program.”

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Being a strategically crucial area for Gazprom, the Leningrad Region is transiting the Company’s gas to St. Petersburg and abroad.

The Region is projected to see the construction of a North-European gas pipeline onshore section and of a liquefied natural gas plant and transshipment terminal (in the vicinity of the town of Ust-Lugi).

At present, Gazprom and the Leningrad Region’s authorities are building cooperation in accordance with the April 2003 5-year Cooperation Agreement. To promote the Agreement, the parties sealed in 2005 an Accord on cooperation.

Over 2005, Gazprom is resolute to furnish Regional customers with some 4.5 bcm of gas.

The gas infrastructure of the Leningrad Region is developed by 51.7 per cent of maximum gas demand, including by 65.9 per cent, in cities and towns and by 26.3 per cent, in rural area (the identical Russia-averaged parameters account for 53, 60 and 34.7 per cent, respectively).

Between 2002 and 2004, Gazprom channeled RUR 720 mln to build gas supply infrastructure in the Leningrad Region, with a total of RUR 789.72 mln earmarked for the construction of 20 gas facilities in 2005.

As of 1 October 2005, the Leningrad Region’s consumers had no gas debt to Gazprom, with gas deliveries paid up at an average of 100.99 per cent.