Today Gazprom’s delegation led by Alexander Ananenkov, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee paid a working visit to Eastern Siberia and the Far East.

The delegation visited Novosibirsk where Alexander Ananenkov met with Anatoly Kvashnin, Plenipotentiary of the President of the Russian Federation in the Siberian Federal District. The parties discussed issues of cooperation in the gas sector. Particularly, the meeting emphasized the Gasification Program over 2005 to 2007 in the RF regions implementation and the prospects of the District gasification. The parties examined the prospects for the Siberian Federal District industrial companies and scientific enterprises participation in implementing the Integrated Gas Supply System development in Eastern Russia.

Alexander Ananenkov met with Victor Tolokonsky, Head of the Novosibirsk Oblast Administration. The meeting mainly focused on implementation of the Agreement on cooperation between Gazprom and the Novosibirsk Oblast as well as synchronized construction schedule of regional gasification units.

Today Alexander Ananenkov and Marina Sedikh, Director General of Irkutsk Oil Company signed the Memorandum of cooperation on issues of the Markovskoye oil & gas condensate field and Ayanskoye gas field in the Irkutsk Oblast.

Within the framework of the General Scheme of gas supply and gasification of the Irkutsk Oblast the Memorandum proposes implementing joint plan of actions.

Due to the document, INK and its affiliated and dependent companies will sell natural gas from the Markovskoye and Ayanskoye fields to Gazprom’s enterprises.

The parties agreed to emphasize issues on cooperation in the deep gas processing sector of and possible set up of gas processing (gas chemical) enterprise based on the Markovskoye and Ayanskoye fields resources.

“The Memorandum singing is another example of partnership between private sector and the State that Gazprom implements within the Integrated Gas Supply System development in Eastern Russia and General Scheme for gas supply and gasification in the Irkutsk Oblast”, said Alexander Ananenkov.

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

To achieve 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.

In June 2005, Gazprom and Novosibirsk Administration signed the Agreement on cooperation. In May 2006, the parties signed the Schedule of synchronized construction of the regional gasification facilities.

Under its Gasification Program for the RF regions in 2006 Gazprom plans to construct in the Novosibirsk Oblast fourteen local gas pipelines.

The Novosibirsk Oblast is currently gasified with less then 2 per cent (2.2 per cent in cities & towns and 0.4 per cent in rural area).

In December 2005, Gazprom and Irkutsk Administration signed the Agreement on gasification.

At the same time the Irkutsk Administration approved the General Scheme of regional gas supply and gasification. The General Scheme stipulates complex development of the regional production, transportation, gas supply system based on domestic hydrocarbon resources on the territory of the Irkutsk Oblast. The first stage of the General Scheme stipulates exploration of the Markovskoye oil & gas condensate field and Ayanskoye gas field for gas supply to consumers of the Ust-Irkutsky industrial joint.

Irkutsk Oil Company is the general shareholder of UstKutNeftegaz that has a license for the right to use subsurface resources of the Markovskoye oil & gas condensate field.

The license for the right to use subsurface resources of the Ayanskoye gas field belongs to INK-NefteGazGeologiya which is a subsidiary of Irkutsk Oil Company.

Gazprom carries out exploration geological works on the Eastern and Western parts of the Yuzhno-Kovyktinskaya area in the Irkutsk Oblast.

In September 2006, within the framework of the General Scheme of gas supply and gasification of the Irkutsk Oblast, Gazprom and ITERA signed the Memorandum on cooperation for gas of the Bratsk gas condensate field in the Irkutsk Oblast.