The Board of Directors approved the Gazprom Innovative Development Program until 2020.

The Program represents a document designed for long-term planning and management of the innovative activities. It covers all of Gazprom's gas, oil and power generation businesses.

The meeting noted that the Program would serve as an efficient tool of further upgrade in the Company's innovative development.

Background

The Gazprom Innovative Development Program until 2020 was elaborated in accordance with the assignments given by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and aimed at developing the innovative activities and raising the technology level in companies with state participation.

The document contains a package of measures on developing and adopting new technologies, innovative products and services in Gazprom at hydrocarbons production, transmission and processing facilities, power plants as well as measures to create favorable conditions for the intense innovative development.

The Program fully accounts for the specifics of Gazprom's business: the uniqueness of the process system, the large scale of projects, the complexity of the value added chain as well as the availability of the potent sci-tech basis and the specific features of Gazprom's corporate structure.

An emphasis is placed on the need to create novel energy-saving and eco-friendly technologies as well as raising investments in the R&D sector.

The Program stipulates a pro-active approach to cooperation with corporate and independent research institutions as part of the R&D activities as well as with higher education institutions in joint studies and staff training.

Cooperation on innovative initiatives will be continued with domestic companies involved in allied industries. Besides, close ties will be established with Russian and foreign energy companies including as part of shaping and functioning of technological platforms – venues for joint decision-making in the innovative sector. These efforts will rule out overlapping of studies and ensure risk and cost sharing in large novel-technology projects.

The document demands Gazprom to be open to the ideas and technologies already available in the open market. In this context, close attention will be paid to cooperation with small and medium-sized innovative companies.

The Program also outlines the ways of improving the management of Gazprom's intellectual property during the innovations development and adoption process.

Gazprom will elaborate the corporate investment and R&D programs with due consideration for the Innovative Development Program.