Today, at Gazprom’s Headquarters, Aleksey Miller, Chairman of Gazprom’s Management Committee and Nikolai Kiselev, Governor of Arkhangel Region, have signed the network schedule for the construction of gasification facilities in the Arkhangel Region.

According to the schedule, complex of works will be accomplished in the Arkhangel Region to prepare consumers for gas supply after Gazprom’s pipeline construction between settlements as stipulated by the gasification program for RF regions over 2005 to 2007.

“Gazprom’s gasification program can be considered realized only when ultimate consumers, first of all, population, get the gas. This concerns especially such RF regions as the Arkhangel Region where gasification level is still low. Consumers’ readiness to get gas largely depends upon regional authorities. The document signed today is targeted to synchronize our joint efforts to fulfill this task.

We discussed questions relating to Nyuksenitsa-Arkhangelsk pipeline construction. The pipeline extension to Mirny and Plesetsk will be commissioned in October this year. Issues to finance construction of the pipeline to Arkhangelsk were also considered. Thus, the Arkhangelsk Region gasification level will be essentially raised in the near future”, noted Aleksey Miller.

“We have assumed obligations to fulfill timely all designing needed to supply gas, construct street and inside household pipeline grids, reequip heating plants. Both regional authorities and municipal bodies and population will actively participate in the work to prepare to get gas”, underlined Nikolai Kiselev.

Reference:

The network schedule of gasification identifies an activity list and implementation dates for gas infrastructure between 2006 and 2007, and is aimed at providing gas connections to consumers immediately upon pipeline completion. To connect consumers, regional authorities are to construct local and household networks, build new or convert to gas existing heating plants, install household gas appliances.

Network schedules are signed to implement Gazprom’s gasification program for RF regions over 2005 to 2007, which is funded with RUR 35 bln. Of this amount, RUR 5.2 bln was already committed in 2005 and not less than RUR 17.6 bln and RUR 12.2 bln is slated for 2006 and 2007, respectively. Extra RUR 1.1 bln will be allocated for the reconstruction and modernization of existing gas distribution pipelines.

At present the Russia-averaged level of gasification makes up 53 per cent including 60 per cent in cities & towns and 34 per cent in rural area.

Implementing the gasification program over 2005 to 2007 will already help boost gas supply to Russian regions to 60 per cent average by 2008 including 66 per cent in cities & towns and 42 per cent in rural area.

To achieve the said targets, Gazprom will provide gas to 3,851 thousand apartments & households including 2,673 thousand in cities & towns and 1,178 thousand in rural area.

The Program will enable Gazprom to convert to natural gas about 20 thousand new residential facilities (hospitals, kindergartens, schools, etc.), over 5 thousand heating plants in villages & settlements and more than 500 agricultural companies, more than 12 thousand km of pipelines to be laid and some 11 mln citizens of 53 Russian regions to be serviced.

Gazprom’s investment priorities for regional gasification are determined based on the following criteria: full payments for gas deliveries; repayment of gas debts; economic viability of projected gas infrastructure; customers’ readiness to receive gas; actual loading of gas laterals and distribution stations; assistance of RF regional authorities in promoting the use of compressed and liquefied natural gas as motor fuel.

The Arkhangel Region residential sector is currently gasified by 9 per cent including 12 per cent in cities, towns and population centers and 0.4 per cent in rural area. In 2006 Gazprom plans to construct at its own expense 3 pipelines between settlements and 3 distribution pipelines in the Region.

A 5-year agreement between Gazprom and the Arkhangel authorities was signed in October 2004.

In 2005 Gazprom provided the Region with nearly 1 bcm of gas and this year Gazprom plans to provide approximately the same volume of gas.