Gazprom and Verbundnetz Gas held celebrations today near Bernburg (Germany) devoted to the ejector unit commissioning at the Bernburg UGS facility.

Participating in the meeting were Vlada Rusakova, Member of the Gazprom Management Committee, Head of the Strategic Development Department and Uwe Barthel, Member of the Verbundnetz Gas Executive Board.

The ejector unit was created as part of sci-tech cooperation between the companies and designed for utilization together with the compressor equipment allowing to reduce the energy demand during gas injection into the UGS facility.

VNG became the first European company to introduce this technology.

Background

Established in 1969 and headquartered in Leipzig, Verbundnetz Gas (VNG) is a parent company of a group of enterprises performing activities in the international markets. VNG businesses involve natural gas import, supply to wholesale consumers as well as its production and underground storage.

At present, the company's shareholders are as follows: EWE – 47.9 per cent, Wintershall Holding – 15.79 per cent plus one share, VNG Verwaltungs und Beteiligungsgesellschaft – 25.79 per cent less one share, Gazprom – 10.52 per cent.

Sci-tech cooperation between Gazprom and VNG started in 1998 and covered underground gas storage in salt caverns.

The growing scope of cooperation between Verbundnetz Gas and Gazprom as well as the structural changes in the companies led to signing the Sci-Tech Cooperation Agreement in June 2008.

Triennial Sci-Tech Cooperation Programs involving engineering dialogs and specific development projects of mutual interest became the tool for implementing the Agreement.

With the capacity exceeding 1 billion cubic meters the Bernburg UGS facility is owned by Verbundnetz Gas.

The ejector unit is a key element of the energy-saving gas injection technology that has proven its efficiency at the Peschano-Umetskoye UGS facility in Russia. The technology is specific with simultaneous compression and ejection of the gas flow. The ejector has a simple design. It is reliable and requires no additional operating costs.