Today in Saint Petersburg Alexander Ananenkov, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee held a meeting dedicated to enhancing the throughput of gas transmission facilities located in Northwestern Russia.

Taking part in the meeting were Igor Fyodorov, Member of the Gazprom Management Committee – Director General of Gazprom komplektatsiya, heads and experts from the Company's specialized subdivisions and contracting companies.

The meeting addressed the progress in designing and constructing the Ukhta – Torzhok, Pochinki – Gryazovets, Gryazovets – Vyborg gas pipelines and expanding the Gryazovets gas transmission hub.

The meeting participants noted that all construction activities related to the said gas pipelines were progressing on schedule. For instance, construction work at the Gryazovetskaya compressor station (CS), a key facility of the Gryazovets transmission hub, had been generally finished. At present, the CS is at the startup stage. Work is underway to ensure the nominal capacity of the Gryazovets – Vyborg gas pipeline intended for gas delivery from the Unified Gas Supply System to the Nord Stream gas pipeline and for supplies to Northwestern Russia.

Based on the meeting results, the Company's specialized subdivisions, subsidiaries and contracting agencies were tasked to ensure timely execution of the projects for gas transmission capacities development in Northwestern Russia.

Previously, a group of Gazprom's experts had visited the Portovaya CS construction site located on the Baltic Sea coast near Vyborg, Leningrad Oblast.

The CS inspection results were summed up at the meeting held by Alexander Ananenkov at the CS premises. It was stressed that the main foundations had been erected, the construction and assembly work was underway and the main equipment had been nearly installed. The connection manifold has been installed and preparations are being made for testing. At the meeting the tasks were given with a view to timely construct the Portovaya CS.

Background:

Gazprom is taking large-scale efforts to develop the Russian gas transmission system (GTS) and diversifying gas export routes in parallel with building up gas production capacities. In this respect, northwestward expansion of the GTS has a particular significance. It is required for secure gas transmission from the Yamal Peninsula where a new gas production center is emerging as well as for timely delivery of natural gas into the Nord Stream gas pipeline and for increasing the reliability of gas supplies to consumers in Northwestern Russia.

The work is currently being performed to expand the Gryazovets gas transmission hub which is a crucial component of the Northern gas transmission corridor. The Gryazovets hub will convey gas to the Nord Stream offshore gas pipeline starting from September 2011. The Gryazovetskaya CS is a key facility of the Gryazovets hub. The work is underway to increase the station capacity from 264 to 389 MW.

Nord Stream will be fed from the Gryazovets – Vyborg gas pipeline. Its length is 900 kilometers and nominal capacity – 55 billion cubic meters of gas. The gas pipeline runs across the Vologda and the Leningrad Oblasts. Domestically manufactured pipes and new generation shutoff valves are used for the linepipe. The pipeline crossings through large watercourses are built using the horizontal directional drilling and microtunneling techniques, which allowed avoiding an impact on river ecosystems during the gas pipeline construction and operation process. The gas pipeline will be commissioned in a stagewise manner starting from 2011. The gas pipeline is to achieve the nominal capacity by late 2012.

The Pochinki – Gryazovets gas pipeline construction is oriented at raising the UGSS reliability and flexibility in the Northwestern and Central regions. At the first stage the pipeline will secure additional gas supplies to the Northwestern region and, inter alia, convey gas to the Nord Stream gas pipeline. Further on, with the first natural gas deliveries from Yamal, the gas pipeline will be switched to reverse flow and gas will be rerouted to the Central region.

The Pochinki – Gryazovets gas pipeline will run across the Nizhny Novgorod, Vladimir, Ivanovo, Yaroslavl and Vologda Oblasts. The 1,420-millimeter pipeline will stretch approximately 650 kilometers and operate at the working pressure of 75 Ata. Its full throughput capacity will reach 36 billion cubic meters a year. The pipeline construction was launched in September 2007.

The Ukhta – Torzhok gas trunkline system is designed for the Yamal gas delivery to the Central region. It will be 1,300 kilometers long with the annual throughput capacity of 90 billion cubic meters and working pressure of 100 Ata.

The Portovaya CS will ensure gas transmission via the Nord Stream gas pipeline. It will be a unique gas transmission facility in terms of aggregate capacity (366 MW), working pressure (220 Ata), gas transmission distance (1,200 kilometers) and daily gas dehydration volume (170 million cubic meters). In the course of the station construction Gazprom utilizes novel equipment and cutting-edge technologies.