Today the Gazprom Headquarters has hosted a working meeting of Alexander Ananenkov, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, Alexander Torshin, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council for the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and Nikolay Kuklin, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Mari El Republic.

The parties discussed progress in implementing the gasification program for Russian regions and particularly for the Mari El Republic. Special attention was paid to implementation of the Agreement on cooperation between Gazprom and the Mari El Government as well as the synchronized network schedule for regional gasification facilities construction and further gas supply development in the city of Yoshkar-Ola and the Volzhsky District of the Republic.

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Gazprom and the Mari El Republic have signed a five-year Agreement for cooperation in 2005.

Gas penetration in Mari El Republic is at 65.8 per cent, 85.9 per cent in cities and towns, and 25.5 per cent in rural area (the average figures are at 53 per cent, 60 per cent, and 34 per cent respectively).

In 2006, under the synchronized schedule for gasification facilities construction in the Mari El Republic, Gazprom commissioned two pipelines between settlements with total length of 18.7 km, constructed 24.6 km of pipelines within settlement and gasified 10 settlements. In 2007 Gazprom plans to construct 5 pipelines between settlements with total length of nearly 80 km.

As of November 1, 2006 the Republic’s debt for natural gas supplied decreased up to RUR 118.4 mln and the pay level for gas deliveries was at 98.8 per cent.

In 2005 Gazprom supplied the Mari El Republic with 1.24 bcm of gas and the same volumes are slated for this year.