A group of Gazprom experts led by Alexander Ananenkov, Deputy Chairman of the Company’s Management Committee finished its trip to the Far Eastern regions.

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky hosted today a joint meeting devoted to Kamchatka gasification. The meeting was moderated by Alexander Ananenkov, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee and Alexey Kuzmitsky, Governor of the Kamchatka Krai.

Participating in the meeting were heads and experts of Gazprom’s specialized subdivisions and subsidiaries: Gazprom invest Vostok, Gazprom mezhregiongaz, Gazprom transgaz Tomsk, Gazprom dobycha Noyabrsk, Gazprom komplektatsiya, Gazprom promgaz, Gazprom gaznadzor and contracting agencies, as well as the Kamchatka Krai Government representatives.

It was noted during the meeting that Gazprom had built the Sobolevo – Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky gas trunkline under adverse climatic conditions over the shortest period of time and had fed gas from the Kshukskoye field to the regional center. The steps taken by the Company cleared the way for Kamchatka gasification.

The Company’s first gasification facility was an inter-settlement gas pipeline built to feed CHPP-2 of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky with gas. Gasification of the Kamchatka Krai’s capital will go on.

In this respect the meeting participants discussed the progress with proposals formulation for the Kamchatka Krai residential sector gasification being formed by Gazprom together with the Russian Federation Government and the Kamchatka Krai Government by the instruction of the Russian Federation President Dmitry Medvedev.

It was stressed that under the Gasification Accord, Gazprom had elaborated the General Gas Supply Scheme, the Fuel and Energy Balance and the Kamchatka Krai Economic Development Forecast. These documents will make a framework of the Krai gasification proposals package and under the assignment are to be submitted for the Russian President consideration in late October.

A joint expert group of Gazprom, the Kamchatka Krai Government and the Russian Energy Ministry is being set up to formulate these proposals.

The meeting participants highlighted that complex work on the Kamchatka resource base and fields development, as well as on construction of new gas transmission facilities will allow arranging in the foreseeable future the gas supply to and gasification of the Kamchatka Krai population centers located along the Sobolevo – Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky gas pipeline.

Speaking of the prospects for the Kamchatka Krai gasification, Alexander Ananenkov specified that onshore gas reserves will be consumed in 15 years at an average rate of around 750 million cubic meters a year. Gazprom will develop the Kamchatka offshore fields over this period. The share of gas in the Kamchatka Krai balance may reach up to 65 per cent in the long run.

Based on the meeting results, the specialized subdivisions and subsidiaries were tasked to timely implement the projects on the Kamchatka Krai gasification.

Background:

Gazprom’s expert groups regularly visit the Far East. The groups are comprised of the Gazprom management, representatives from the Company’s specialized structural units, subsidiaries and contracting agencies. The visits are primarily aimed at ensuring timely implementation of the projects for the Unified Gas Supply System creation in Eastern Russia on the basis of the Company’s resources.

Gazprom and the Kamchatka Krai Government entered into the Gasification Accord in January 2008, and into the Cooperation Agreement in February 2009. In 2009 Kamchatka was included into the Russian Regions Gasification Program.

The gasification level in the Kamchatka Krai had been below 1 per cent before the initiation of the gas supply project by Gazprom. Natural gas in the amount of 9 million cubic meters a year was delivered by Kamchatgazprom (not included in Gazprom Group) to the settlements of Sobolevo and Ustyevoye on the west coast of Kamchatka from the Kshukskoye field.

In September 2010 Gazprom put onstream the Sobolevo – Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky gas pipeline and initiated gas supplies to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

CHPP-2 of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky will be the main gas consumer at the initial stage. In order to provide gas supply to CHPP-2, Gazprom has built a 15-kilometer-long two-string inter-settlement gas pipeline from the automated gas distribution station (AGDS) of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to CHPP-2.

Further on the Company is planning to convert CHPP-1 of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to gas. Design and survey works on the inter-settlement gas pipeline construction from CHPP-2 to CHPP-1 are currently being carried out. The pipeline construction will enhance sustainable energy supply to the city.