Today the Gazprom Headquarters has hosted a working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee and Nikolai Shaklein, Governor of the Kirov Oblast.

The parties discussed the implementation of the Agreement of Cooperation between Gazprom and the Kirov regional authorities.

Particularly, the meeting addressed regional gasification matters as well as the progress with the Okhansk – Kirov gas branch pipeline upgrading.

Reference:

Gazprom and the Kirov Oblast Government entered into the Agreement of Cooperation in July 2004, with the Accord on Gasification signed in December 2001.

In 2006 Gazprom supplied regional consumers with over 2.5 bcm of gas.

The region has no gas debt to Gazprom.

Natural gas penetration in the residential sector of the Kirov Oblast makes up 27.2 per cent including 37.2 per cent in cities & towns and 4.6 per cent in rural areas. The same figures throughout Russia average 53, 60 and 34 per cent, respectively.

Between 2002 and 2005 Gazprom invested RUR 1.14 bln to gasify the Kirov Oblast. Under the 2006 Gasification Program for RF Regions, Gazprom committed RUR 738 mln to construct a total of over 262 km of 18 local gas pipelines in the region. The work was completed on schedule.

In 2007 Gazprom sets out to allocate RUR 740 mln for the construction of local gas pipelines in the Kirov Oblast.

On their part, the regional authorities will invest this year RUR 200 mln to build rural pipelines, with a further RUR 287 bln planned to be outsourced.

The Okhansk – Kirov gas branch pipeline has the length of 384 km. Gazprom started upgrading the pipeline in 2006 and intends to complete the work in 2009. Within 2007 Gazprom will channel over RUR 200 mln for the pipeline upgrading purposes.