On the 5th of October, Energy Delta Institute (EDI) celebrates its tenth anniversary, together with representatives from Gazprom, Gasunie, GasTerra and other energy companies, key lecturers, fellows, higher education institutions and other parties involved in the development of EDI.

“Today, celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Energy Delta Institute, together with our partners we demonstrate a high level of professionalism of those specialists who have completed their studies at the EDI. More than 400 of our staff members have become graduates of the Institute programs and have been able to apply the acquired knowledge in practice by implementing strategically relevant projects both in our country and abroad.

I am sure that due to the EDI's new professional education programs, we are training a new generation of managers who meet the demands of the modern energy market,” Sergey Khomyakov said.

“10 years ago, Gazprom, Gasunie and the University of Groningen foresaw the need to invest in knowledge and founded the Energy Delta Institute. Up until this day, I am very proud to have contributed to educating current and future energy managers, by supporting the Energy Delta Institute,” said Paul van Gelder, CEO of N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie.

“'It seems not even that long ago that a Gazprom delegation visited Groningen to further discuss the plans of founding an energy business school, together with Gasunie and the University of Groningen. Yet, this year, that moment is already 10 years ago. Since 2002 I have seen EDI grow from a small organization with just a couple of courses to a well established International Energy Business school, where participants from all over the world meet, interact and share knowledge. Given the industry's shortage of qualified personnel, I feel that even 10 years later, we still need to continue to invest in educating the next generation of energy professionals,” said Eric Dam, President EDI.

Sergey Khomyakov, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee met with Geert Graaf, Member of the Executive Board of Gasunie, Gertjan Lankhorst, CEO of GasTerra and Eric Dam, President of EDI during the event. The meetings considered the issues of promoting the companies' partnership in implementing joint projects in the spheres of personnel training and sci-tech cooperation.

The Gazprom delegation also visited the University of Groningen where the parties discussed prospective development of the relationships between the Company and the leading educational institution of the Netherlands.

Graduates of the Executive Master of Gas Business Management program were given credentials during the celebrations of the tenth anniversary of EDI, and a concert was held featuring the winners of the corporate Fakel Festival among amateur creative teams and performers.

Background

In 2001 Gazprom and Gasunie came forward with an initiative of launching a joint project for the exchange of knowledge and experience in the energy industry. This initiative was supported by the Russian and Dutch governments. The project was given a code name of “Gas University”. The University of Groningen, which established the Energy Delta Institute jointly with Gasunie, GasTerra, Shell and other companies, entered the project later. Up until this day, EDI has educated 3 500 energy professionals world wide.

The University of Groningen is the largest and the oldest one in the Netherlands. It is the leader among European institutions of higher education in the sphere of nanotechnology, material science, molecular biology, microbiology, ecology and others. The University consists of 9 faculties, 9 graduate schools, 27 research centers and institutes, and offers more than 175 educational programs. The University is a member of Coimbra Group.

GasTerra is one of the leading Dutch energy companies focusing its commercial activities on gas purchases and sales. The Dutch government holds a 50 per cent stake in GasTerra, while Shell and ExxonMobil hold a 25 per cent stake each.

Gasunie is a European gas infrastructure company, the network ranks among the largest high pressure gas pipeline grids in Europe with total annual gas throughput of approximately 125 billion cubic meters. Gasunie's network consists of over 15,000 kilometers of pipeline in the Netherlands and northern Germany and approximately 1,300 gas receiving stations. The company also offers gas and LNG storage services.