Today in the city of Volgograd Viktor Zubkov, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation and Chairman of the Gazprom Board of Directors held a meeting on updating the General Scheme for Gas Supply and Gasification of the Volgograd Oblast which will be implemented from 2011 to 2013.

In the beginning of the meeting Viktor Zubkov underlined that the General Scheme which had been developed in 2006 for the Volgograd Oblast needed to be updated because of the intense socioeconomic development of the region, the emergence of new production facilities and, as a consequence, the change in the gas consumption structure and the increase in the gas volumes consumed.

It was noted at the meeting that there were about 80 investment projects to be implemented in the nearest future. In particular, the development of the Kotelnikovskaya industrial zone on the basis of the Gremyachinskoye potassium salts deposit, the advancement of the Povolzhye textile cluster, the construction of a cement plant, the modernization of oil refineries.

In addition, there are the agro-industrial complex development projects in the Volgograd Oblast, including the construction and modernization of poultry and livestock farms. The meeting participants emphasized that the General Scheme implementation would give a fresh impetus to the agricultural development of the region. At present, the gasification level in the rural area is at 55.9 per cent, which is above Russia's average (46.7 per cent). However, the achieved level is not sufficient taking into account the potential of this region as one of the leading agricultural producers in the Russian Federation.

At the end of the meeting Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Company's Management Committee and Anatoly Brovko, Head of the Volgograd Oblast Administration approved the updated General Scheme for Gas Supply and Gasification of the Volgograd Oblast.

According to the document, Gazprom will carry out the modernization of 38 gas distribution stations (GDS) and 2 gas laterals, build 258 inter-settlement gas pipelines with the total length of about 3,000 kilometers. Moreover, 4 brand-new gas laterals and 4 GDS will be constructed to ensure timely supplies of natural gas to agricultural and industrial consumers in the southern regions of the Volgograd Oblast: a livestock breeding complex, 2 milk processing factories and the Gremyachinsky mining and processing plant.

“Implementation of the updated General Scheme will additionally ensure gasification of 462 settlements in the Volgograd Oblast. By the end of 2013 the number of gasified households will be increased by 40,000 – to 950,000. Natural gas will be delivered to almost all settlements in the region,” said Viktor Zubkov.

Upon that, it is planned to provide non-gasified settlements with alternative energy sources, including liquefied and compressed natural gas.

Between 2011 and 2013 Gazprom will spend more than RUB 21 billion on gasification of the Volgograd Oblast. The region is expected to be fully gasified with natural gas by the end of 2013.

Background

Cooperation between Gazprom and the Volgograd Oblast Administration has a strategic character.

Between 2006 and 2010 the region was enriched by 37 production and infrastructure facilities of Gazprom with the investments totaling some RUB 5.7 billion.

The Volgograd Oblast will be one of the regions covered by the construction of the Southern Corridor (a new gas transmission system). The gas transmission system will help supply additional gas volumes to a number of central and southern Russian regions as well as to feed gas to the South Stream gas pipeline.

Moreover, Gazprom is actively constructing the Volgograd underground gas storage (UGS) facility in a salt cavern. The new UGS facility is expected to become operational in the autumn/winter period of 2013–2014.

The Gasification Accord between Gazprom and the Volgograd Oblast Administration was signed in December 2010. The total volume of Gazprom's investments in the Oblast gasification exceeded RUB 2.8 billion from 2003 to 2010. These funds were allocated for the construction of 42 inter-settlement gas pipelines with the total length of 839.3 kilometers. It helped reach an 81.4 per cent gasification level in the region (Russia's average – 63.1 per cent).