Moscow has hosted a joint coordination meeting of the Gazprom Working Groups and the Irkutsk Oblast administration on issues relevant to gas supply and gasification. The session was moderated by Bogdan Budzulyak, Member of the Gazprom Management Committee and Anatoly Nikitin, Deputy Head of the Irkutsk Oblast administration.

The Working Group members examined issues relevant to execution of the Action Plan for gas supply and gasification in 2007 approved by the regional authorities. The parties expressed common opinion that the General Scheme implementation is an important issue for the regional administration and Gazprom aimed at executing major provisions of the Social and Economic Development Concept of the Irkutsk Oblast approved by the Russian Federation Government at the May 10, 2007 meeting.

Special attention was paid to providing commission of top-priority gasification facilities, preparation of consumers for gas supply as well as the regional Program of switching motor transport and agricultural equipment to gas fuel.

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The General Scheme of gas supply and gasification of Irkutsk Oblast was developed by Gazprom in accordance with gas supply Contract between Gazprom and the Irkutsk Oblast administration. The General Scheme was approved by Alexander Tishanin, Governor of the Irkutsk Oblast in December 2005.

Gazprom owns two licenses for exploration of the Eastern and Western parts of the Yuzhno-Kovyktinskaya area.

On February 18, 2007, Federal Agency for Subsoil Use (Rosnedra) approved the discovery of the Chikanskoye gas condensate field. The Chikanskoye’s C1 reserves make up 16 tcm of gas and 1 mln t of gas condensate, C2 reserves make up 81 tcm of gas and 5 mln t of gas condensate.

On March 1, 2007, the Irkutsk Oblast administration decided to create a regional program of switching transportation enterprises and agricultural equipment to alternative fuel, under which it is stipulated to develop CNG and LNG fuelling stations.