Today, in St. Petersburg Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee and Valentina Matvienko, Governor of Saint-Petersburg have signed an Agreement of cooperation between Gazprom and the Saint-Petersburg Government in 2008.

Pursuant to the document signed, the Saint-Petersburg Government will provide full timely payments for current gas supplies to budget consumers.

The Government will timely review and approve at the economically feasible level regulated retail prices for natural gas supplied to population with due regard of changes in the whole sale prices regulated by the Government as well as tariffs for natural gas transportation via the networks of gas distribution companies (GDC).

St. Petersburg’s Government will identify the amount of special markups included on approval by GDC in tariffs for gas transportation via the gas distribution networks and intended for financing the St.Petersburg gasification program as well as will exercise control over the allocation of generated funds.

In due course, the Government will stipulate expenses for provision of subsidies to execute target programs related to the gasification.

The companies, which provide engineering, construction and thermal energy facilities utilization, gasification, gas supply in the territory of St. Petersburg and its suburbs, the city’s Government will facilitate in obtaining credit, tax and other privileges.

Gazprom and its subsidiaries will be assisted in lease contracts for land located in St. Petersburg.

In its turn, Gazprom will provide reliable gas supply of St. Petersburg, stipulate in the investment program financial resources for branch pipeline engineering to the town of Kolpino including Kolpino-2 gas distribution station, Lagolovo gas distribution station and girths between gas mains including the Belousovo-Leningrad and Kokhtla-Yave-Leningrad as well as Shosseinaya-2 gas distribution station.

In 2008 gas supply volume in St. Petersburg will be at 10.84 bcm. During 2008 Gazprom will examine and coordinate the General Gas Supply Scheme for St. Petersburg until 2015 with a perspective to supply gas until 2025.

The document stipulates that Gazprom would commit RUR 1.3 bln for exploration and engineering activities, completion of construction initiated in 2007 and commencement of construction of new gasification infrastructure as well as RUR 5.5 bln – for construction and reconstruction thermal energy facilities in St. Petersburg.

Gazprom will take part in the final stage of execution of the St. Petersburg Construction of Gasification Facilities in St. Petersburg during 2007-2008 target program, as well as the Construction of High Pressure Gas Pipeline Construction via the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland During 2007-2010 and the Construction of Gas Pipelines from Lagolovo Gas Distribution Station to South-Western Thermal Station During 2007-2009 programs.

The parties will further joint work on implementing gas motor fuel in buses owned by the public municipal companies offering passenger transportation services.

Reference:

A five-year Agreement of cooperation between Gazprom and the Leningrad Oblast Government was signed on April 25, 2003. In December 2006 Gazprom and the city’s Government approved a Gas Supply Program of Saint-Petersburg during 2007-2017 with a perspective to prolong the Program till 2025.

Gazprom supplied nearly 9.7 bcm of gas to the consumers of Saint-Petersburg in 2007. 

The Saint-Petersburg consumers do not have the indebtedness to Gazprom for gas delivered. As of December 1, 2007 Saint-Petersburg paid in advance more than RUR 104.5 mln.

The average gasification level of Saint-Petersburg is 81.4 per cent, the average gasification level in Russia is 58 per cent.

During 2002-2006 Gazprom committed more than RUR 1.3 bln, in 2007 – RUR 803 mln. In 2008 Gazprom plans to construct 11 gas pipelines with total length of 86.7 km.

Gazprom committed more than RUR 2.3 bln for reconstruction of thermal energy facilities of the Petrograd region of Saint-Petersburg. Gazprom constructed 36 joint heating plants providing heat and hot water to 409 households with a population estimating at 24,000. In 2007 Gazprom committed more than RUR 2.8 bcm for reconstruction of thermal energy facilities in the Petrogradsky, Kurortny and Petrodvortsovy regions of Saint-Petersburg. Currently, 28 heating plants and 112 km of gas pipelines have been constructed in these regions. The work for 2008 is under preparation.