The Kamchatka Krai hosted today celebrations dedicated to the commissioning of the Sobolevo – Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky gas trunkline and the startup of natural gas deliveries to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

Taking part in the celebrations were Dmitry Medvedev, President of the Russian Federation, Igor Sechin, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Viktor Ishaev, Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal Okrug, Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, Alexey Kuzmitsky, Governor of the Kamchatka Krai.

“Gazprom completed a milestone in the project for gas supply to the Kamchatka Krai. Natural gas was fed to the Krai center – the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky – for the first time ever. Moreover, it was the Kamchatkan gas. The Sobolevo – Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky pipeline built by Gazprom allowed for gas delivery across the Peninsula, from the west to the east.

The pipeline commissioning opens up the way for gasification of Kamchatka. Kamchatkan gas deliveries to the Krai’s consumers will significantly reduce dependence on the fuels brought in from beyond the region and guarantee energy security for years to come. I am sure that Gazprom’s gasification and gas supply activities in the Peninsula will give an additional impetus to the Krai’s economy development and will considerably improve living conditions for the population in Russia’s eastern outpost,” stated Alexey Miller.

Background:

The September 2007 Order by the Russian Federation Industry and Energy Ministry approved the state-run Development Program for an integrated gas production, transportation and supply system in Eastern Siberia and the Far East, taking into account potential gas exports to China and other Asia-Pacific countries (Eastern Gas Program). Gazprom was appointed by the Russian Government as the Program execution coordinator. New gas production centers will be  created in Eastern Russia including Kamchatka.

In September 2007 the Russian Government also adopted the decision prescribing Gazprom to join the Gas Supply to the Kamchatka Oblast, Phase 1 – Gas Supply to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky project.

As part of the Kamchatka Krai gas supply project Gazprom is performing production drilling and pre-development of two fields – Kshukskoye and Nizhne-Kvakchikskoye.

It is planned to reach the designed throughput capacity of 175 million cubic meters a year in the Kshukskoye field in  2011. The Nizhne-Kvakchikskoye field commissioning with its throughput capacity of 575 million cubic meters will allow increasing the total annual gas production capacity on the Peninsula to 750 million cubic meters in 2013 upon the required demand.

Gazprom promptly built the Sobolevo – Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky gas trunkline in order to supply gas to the consumers in the Kamchatka Krai. The gas pipeline is 392 kilometers long and its throughput capacity is up to 750 million cubic meters of gas a year.

The pipeline route runs through the rugged and variform terrain: tundra and marshlands. When constructing the pipeline, engineering solutions were applied to meet the required level of seismic resistance and environmental safety.

Gazprom and the Kamchatka Krai Government entered into the Gasification Accord in January 2008, and into the Cooperation Agreement in February 2009.

The gasification level in the Kamchatka Krai had been below 1 per cent before the implementation of the gas supply project by Gazprom. Natural gas in the amount of 9 million cubic meters a year was delivered by Kamchatgazprom (not included in the Gazprom Group) to the settlements of Sobolevo and Ustyevoye on the west coast of Kamchatka from the Kshukskoye field. Gazprom’s activity will allow increasing the Kamchatka Krai gas penetration level. In 2009 Kamchatka was included into the Russian Regions Gasification Program.

CHPP-2 of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky will be the main gas consumer on the Peninsula at the initial stage. In order to provide gas supply to CHPP-2, Gazprom has built a  15 kilometer long two-string inter-settlement gas pipeline from the automated gas distribution station (AGDS) of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to CHPP-2. Further on the Company is planning to convert CHPP-1 of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to gas and provide gasification of the Kamchatka Krai settlements located along the gas pipeline route. The Program for the Gasification Development in the Region was therefore elaborated and is currently being coordinated with the Kamchatka Krai Government.