A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of Gazprom's Management Committee and Arsen Kanokov, President of the Kabardin-Balkar Republic has taken place today at Gazprom's Headquarters.

The parties debated the implementation of a Cooperation Agreement between Gazprom and the Kabardin-Balkar Republic.

In particular, Alexey Miller and Arsen Kanokov noted that while implementing the Agreement the parties had brought into service 89 km of gas distribution networks, supplying gas to 3,700 new households and apartments.

A focus of the meeting fell on repaying the Republican debt for the gas supplied.

Alexey Miller and Arsen Kanokov addressed the issue of improving the gas payment discipline in the Republic and tightening control over the fulfillment of the existing gas arrears clearance commitments.

The parties adopted a decision to enter into a gas debt restructuring agreement to be sealed between the authorities of the Kabardin-Balkar Republic and Mezhregiongaz.

Reference:

The five-year Cooperation Agreement between Gazprom and the Kabardin-Balkar Republic was concluded in February 2003.

Last year Gazprom provided the Republic with over 1.3 bcm of gas and, as of 1 November 2005, natural gas deliveries exceeded a billion m?.

Over 2005 gas payments and debt settlement by the Kabardin-Balkar Republic have accounted for 51.22 and 8.27 per cent, respectively (versus Russia’s average of 97.48 and 20.10 per cent, respectively).

Within the ten months of this year the Kabardin-Balkar Republic’s gas arrears grew RUR 286.9 mln to over RUR 2.6 bln, as of 1 November 2005, with the bulk of the debt owed by fuel & energy companies (over RUR 1.2 bln) and the population (over RUR 0.9 bln).

The natural gas infrastructure of the Kabardin-Balkar Republic is developed by 87.2 per cent of maximum demand, including by 93.4 per cent in cities, towns & localities and 77.4 per cent in rural area (the identical Russia-averaged parameters account for 53, 60 and 34.7 per cent, respectively).

Gazprom and the Kabardin-Balkar Republic haven’t sealed a gas supply accord.