Today Gazprom has hosted a meeting dedicated to gas deliveries to Russian and foreign consumers during the cold snap. Attending the meeting were the heads of Gazprom’s core business units.

The meeting particularly underscored that during the cold spell practically all Russian and foreign consumers were receiving the full amount of Gazprom’s gas piped in strict compliance with existing gas contracts. In order to achieve it, Gazprom utilized gas production & transmission capacities at their maximum, posting record high daily gas withdrawals from UGS facilities in the entire corporate history.

Gas supply to Russian consumers is 40 per cent above the target and to European consumers is 7 per cent up on the contractual amount.

Due to the anomalously low temperatures currently hitting Russia, Gazprom shifted to preferential gas supplies to the residential sector. To that end the company started operating from 16 January under a schedule stipulating the conversion of Russian industrial consumers to standby energy sources (Schedule ?1). Subject to annual endorsement by regional authorities, Schedule ?1 obliges industrial consumers to have backup fuels during the autumn-winter heating season.

Applied under Article19 of the Regulations on Gas Supply in the RF, approved by the RF Government’s Directive ?162 from February 5 1998, Schedule ?1 prescribes partial conversion of customers to standby energy sources (fuel oil, peat, coal, etc.) to spare an amount of gas for meeting increased demand of the residential sector.

Conversion to backup fuels and their timely procurement is fixed in contracts with all industrial consumers.

The meeting participants emphasized that, in order to secure sustainable gas supply, industrial consumers should vigorously follow Schedule ?1 obliging them to use backup fuels.

“Gazprom has intensified its daily operations and utilized gas production, storage and distribution reserves to meet the requirements of all customers. During the sharp temperature drops the company is taking all necessary measures to secure uninterrupted gas deliveries to Russian and cross-border customers, with special emphasis being placed on gas supply to socially significant facilities and residential customers. There won’t be any shortages in gas supply to these consumers,” said Alexander Ananenkov.