Alexander Ananenkov, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee has convoked at the Gazprom Head Office a meeting dedicated to the production capacity commissioning issues set out in the corporate capital construction plan for 2006.

The participants underscored that Gazprom was facing the task of bringing onstream a number of critical gas production and transmission facilities that would continue enabling the Company to fully meet demand of Russian and foreign consumers.

The participants also emphasized that in 2006 Gazprom had achieved its objectives in regard with the top priority gas extraction facilities. The end of 2006 is scheduled to see strict fulfillment of upstream facility construction plans. In particular, the Pestsovaya area of the Urengoyskoye field is already operating at full capacity (27 bcm of gas a year), with a comprehensive gas treatment unit to be operational in the 4th quarter at the Kharvutinskaya area of the Yamburgskoye field.

The meeting decided to concentrate customer and contractor resources at trunkline facilities with the view of ensuring their commissioning as scheduled.

The participants noted that UGS upgrading and construction actions were progressing in 2006 according to the preset schedules. In particular, the 4th quarter will see the commissioning of the Kanchurinsko-Musinskoye UGS facility.

Over 2006 further actions were stepped up to construct and upgrade gas transmission capacities (Nord Stream, NTR-Torzhok, Yamal-Europe gas pipelines, Urengoy gas transmission hub extension), with more than 1,300 km of gas mains and branches to be brought online.

Reference:

The restated Gazprom 2006 Investment Program was endorsed by the Board of Directors on September 27. Under the Program, capital investments for 2006 stand at RUR 324.93 bln.

The bulk of the 2006 capital investments are targeted at timely commissioning crucial gas transmission facilities and initiating construction at key facilities to be brought onstream in future. In particular, extra investments are earmarked for building pertinent infrastructure at the Yen-Yakhinskoye, Zapolyarnoye and Yuzhno-Russkoye fields, stepping up paramount actions to technically develop the Bovanenkovskoye and Kharasaveyskoye fields as well as executing projects included in UGTS and upstream facility upgrading programs and other projects.