St. Petersburghosted the 9th meeting of the Coordinating Committee between Gazprom and E.ON for sci-tech cooperation, personnel training and career development.

The meeting was moderated by the Committee Co-Chairpersons: Dmitry Lyugai, Member of the Management Committee, Head of the Prospective Development Department on the part of Gazprom and Jorgen Kildahl, Member of the Board of Management and Klaus Schaefer, Chief Executive Officer of E.ON Global Commodities on the part of E.ON.

Taking part in the Coordinating Committee meeting were top executives and specialists from the following Gazprom's subsidiaries: Gazprom Transgaz Ekaterinburg, Gazprom Promgaz, Gazprom Transgaz Saint Petersburg, Gazprom Transgaz Nizhny Novgorod, Gazprom Export and Gazprom VNIIGAZ.

The meeting participants discussed the current status and updated the programs for sci-tech cooperation, personnel training and career development between 2012 and 2014. It was noted that the success of joint projects carried out in the course of over 20 years of cooperation between Gazprom and E.ON guaranteed the cooperation deepening between the companies.

The meeting paid attention to wider cooperation aimed at improving exploration and gas production technologies as well as to introducing a series of innovations for hydrocarbon treatment. Consideration was also given to raising quality standards for natural gas in Europe, LNG production, small-scale LNG inclusive, compressed and liquefied natural gas use as a motor fuel as well as cooperation prospects in environmental protection, resource and energy saving technologies.

As part of the cooperation in personnel training and career development the meeting approved joint educational programs attended by more than 2,600 employees from both companies throughout the entire activity period. The parties shared the opinion that training of highly-qualified personnel would help advance the business processes in both companies in the current dynamic market of energy resources.

In the course of the meeting the Coordinating Committee members visited the Portovaya compressor station where they got acquainted with the key element of the Nord Stream gas pipeline. It was highlighted that reliable operation of Nord Stream was essential for maintaining the European energy security.

At the end of the meeting the parties expressed contentment with the results achieved during the sci-tech cooperation and pointed out a high potential of further interaction between Gazprom and E.ON in science and technology, personnel training & career development as well as joint children's programs.

Background

E.ON is Europe's largest investor-owned electric power and gas company. E.ON Global Commodities is a subsidiary of E.ON and is responsible for the group's gas business in Europe, including natural gas production, marketing, transportation and storage. In the early 1970s E.ON Global Commodities (former Ruhrgas) became one of the first large buyers of Russian gas in Western Europe.

Currently, the cooperation between Gazprom and E.ON Ruhrgas is not limited to gas trading. The companies jointly participate in the Yuzhno-Russkoye oil and gas field development as well as the Nord Stream gas pipeline construction.

Moreover, Gazprom and E.ON Ruhrgas deepen their cooperation under the Sci-Tech Cooperation Program 2012–2014.