Today in Saint Petersburg Alexander Ananenkov, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee held a meeting to address the progress in implementing Gazprom’s orders placed with domestic shipbuilding plants, as well as the prospects for cooperation between Gazprom and Russian shipbuilders.

Taking part in the meeting were representatives from Gazprom’s specialized subdivisions and subsidiaries, as well as from Russia’s leading shipbuilding companies located in the northwest region – Baltiysky Zavod, Vyborg Shipyard, Severnaya Verf and Krylov Shipbuilding Research Institute.

Addressing the meeting, Alexander Ananenkov underlined that offshore fields development and liquefied natural gas (LNG) production and seaborne transportation were strategically important for Gazprom. Trying to make maximum use of the domestic shipbuilding potential to meet these challenges, the Company offers wide opportunities to shipbuilding companies in upgrading equipment and adopting new developments, as well as gives them a real chance to achieve a higher level of production quality.

The meeting participants discussed the current state of affairs at the shipbuilding plants, with which Gazprom placed its orders. It was noted that the orders were generally executed on schedule. Meanwhile, imported components of modern waterborne vehicles and equipment are to be replaced with domestically manufactured ones.

It was noted that Gazprom and the Modern Commercial Fleet (Sovcomflot) were going to unite efforts in arranging LNG carriers construction and maintenance. At the same time, placing the orders for methane carriers construction with Russian companies is a must for such cooperation.

Based on the meeting results, Gazprom’s specialized subdivisions and subsidiaries were tasked to expand interaction with Russian shipbuilders for timely construction of the vessels ordered by the Company.

Background:

The initial aggregate hydrocarbon resources of Russia’s continental shelf amount to some 100 billion tons of fuel equivalent, of which 80 per cent is gas. The bulk of the hydrocarbon resources (around 70 per cent) are concentrated in the Barents, Pechora and Kara Seas, with gas and condensate prevailing in the Barents and Kara, and oil – in the Pechora Sea.

Gazprom considers the Barents, Kara, Pechora and Caspian Sea shelves, the Ob and Taz Bays offshore areas, the Sea of Okhotsk shelf, including the Sakhalin Island and West Kamchatka offshore to be most promising.

The Gazprom Work Program for hydrocarbon resources development on the Russian Federation shelf until 2030 was elaborated and adopted in September 2005 for the purpose of arranging operations in offshore fields.

The Program covers comprehensive and staged development of offshore hydrocarbon resources, application of modern highly efficient technologies across the entire process chain with due regard to the advanced global expertise.

Until 2030 Gazprom, in order to develop the continental shelf, will need more than ten drilling and processing platforms, over 60 vessels and waterborne vehicles and equipment of various types and at  least several dozens of LNG carriers.

In November 2009 Gazflot, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gazprom, and the United Industrial Corporation signed the Agreement of Cooperation. The Agreement sets out the in-principle accords on support vessels, floating drilling rigs and LNG carriers construction.

The Modern Commercial Fleet (Sovcomflot) open joint-stock company is Russia’s largest shipping company, a global leader in energy resources transportation. Sovcomflot is among five largest tanker operators in the world. At  present, the company’s fleet comprises 143 vessels with the total deadweight of 10.37 million tons.