Gazprom’s Management Committee examined today the United Gas Transmission System (UGTS) readyness for the 2004-2005 autumn-winter heating season.

The participants pointed out that the UGTS was, to a larger extent, ready for the upcoming autumn-winter period.

Underground gas storage (UGS) facilities were filled with 62.5 bcm of commercial gas reserves, 0.5 bcm up on the previous year. At the same time, UGSs’ peak load capacity is estimated at 550 mln cu m/d, with the average daily capacity between December and February to account for 470.5 mln cu m/d.

From January to September of this year Gazprom’s affiliates extracted 401.4 bcm of gas, 2.7 and 5.7 bcm up on the target and production amount over last year’s same period, respectively. Gas condensate and oil production exceeded 8.85 mln t, 750 thousand t more than over the 9 months of last year.

The 2004-2005 autumn-winter heating season is scheduled to see the extraction of 287.5 bcm of gas, with 143.3 and 144.2 bcm to be withdrawn in the 4th quarter of 2004 and 1st quarter of 2005, respectively. Average daily gas production in the forthcoming autumn-winter period is planned to account for some 1.6 bcm.

To ensure secure operations of Gazprom’s gas productipon subsidiaries over the upcoming autumn-winter heating season, the Company commissioned, as of 1 October 2004, the 2nd line of the booster station at the UKPG-4 Gas Treatment Unit (Yamburgskoye gas condensate field) and 176 gas wells at the Zapolyarnoye oil and gas condensate, Yamburgskoye, Yubileinoye gas condensate, Urengoiskoye, Yen-Yakhinskoye as well as Orenburggazprom and Kubangazprom-operated fields.

Over the 9 months of this year, 67 gas treatment units, 64 booster station shops and 405 underwent repairs. In addition, 1,250 km of gas pipelines were overhauled (350 km more against last year’s analogous period), 14.2 thousand km of gas lines inspected and 16.7 thousand km, studied electrometrically.

Between January and September of 2004, Gazprom channeled 263.7 bcm of gas to its Russian customers (3 bcm up on last year’s same period), including 103.9 bcm, to power generation companies, 21.2 bcm, to metallurgical companies and 15.2 bcm, to the agrochemical sector.

Just like in the past, in the upcoming autumn-winter heating period Gazprom will be largely focused on uninterrupted gas supplies to the residential sector to be provided with over 50 bcm of gas (19% of overall gas consumption in Russia).

The Management Committee meeting underscored that successful operations over the autumn-winter period, particularly during maximum gas withdrawals by consumers, would largely be dependent, just like in the past, on the gas consumption discipline in Russian regions, amount of reserve fuels stockpiled and technical condition of boilers and heat networks.

DIVISION OF RELATIONS WITH MASS MEDIA