A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Gazprom’s Management Committee Chairman, and Alexey Gotseridze, President of the International Gas Corporation of the Republic of Georgia, was held today at Gazprom’s headquarters.

The participants discussed prospects of bilateral cooperation in the gas industry and current gas supplies to the Republic. At present, the security of gas supply to Georgian consumers by Itera, which is unable to provide it properly due to gas shortage, is the main challenge. “If the parties fail to find a mutually acceptable decision on offsetting the gas shortage in the short run, then Gazprom will be forced to take responsibility for providing Georgian consumers with gas. Gazprom will ensure gas supply security,” Mr Miller quoted as saying.

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Georgia does not produce natural gas and imports it mainly from Central Asia. Natural gas share in Georgia’s energy balance accounts for some 24%. In recent years, ITERA had been Georgia’s principle gas supplier, with 705.9 mln cubic meters of natural gas delivered only in 2003.

In July 2003, Gazprom and the Government of Georgia signed a 25-year Agreement on Strategic Cooperation in the Gas Industry. The Agreement determines the main directions of the cooperation: natural gas deliveries to Georgia; gas sales to Georgian end users; operation, reconstruction, modernization and expansion of the Georgian gas pipeline system; gas deliveries to Georgian power plants and joint marketing of the electricity produced.

In 2003, Gazexport, a 100% Gazprom’s subsidiary, supplied some 256.8 million cubic meters of natural gas to Georgia, inclusive 72.7 million cubic meters of gas delivered as a payment for gas transit via the Republic. The contracts concluded envisage the supply of up to 600 million cubic meters of natural gas, inclusive up to 70 million cubic meters of gas to be delivered for gas transit, to Georgia in 2004.

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