The Hague(The Netherlands) has hosted today the fifth meeting of the Coordination Committee for Sci-Tech Collaboration between Gazprom and Gasunie.

The Coordination Committee meeting has involved the heads of the core departments of Gasunie, Gazprom and Gazprom subsidiaries, including Gazprom Promgaz, NIIgazeconomika and Podzemgazprom.

In the course of the meeting the participants have reviewed the principal results of implementing the Program of Scientific and Technical Collaboration for 2010–2012.

Notably, it has been highlighted that the jointly developed multilevel information and analytical system, which enables the European dispatching centers to integrate their interaction in controlling the European countries' gas transmission grids under today's market conditions is a major result of the two companies' scientific and technical collaboration. The main system setup principles and system prototype were presented at the Gas Centre of the United Nations Economic Committee for Europe, which stirred great interest.

Among other topics discussed during the Coordination Committee meeting were optimizing the methods of capacity development planning in gas transmission and underground gas storage in the changing market conditions, study the potential of small-scale LNG applications and projects, analysis of the current situation and future perspectives of unconventional gas production in Europe, development of the set of methods of instrumental control over the atmospheric anti-corrosion protection coatings, evaluation of the influence of external factors on the pipeline corrosion processes, methods of diagnostics and appraisal of the UGS equipment operating reliability and technical condition, comparing the requirements and methods of applied standards in the measurements of natural gas quality and quantity parameters, preparation and approval of investment decisions, project risk analysis.

At the end of the meeting the parties have expressed satisfaction with the results achieved in their Scientific and Technical collaboration and underscored a high potential of the two companies' further interaction.

Background

Gasunie is a European natural gas infrastructure company. Gasunie network ranks among the largest high-pressure gas pipeline grids in Europe, consisting of over 15,000 kilometers of pipelines in the Netherlands and northern Germany and approximately 1,300 gas receiving stations. The annual throughput capacity of the gas network totals some 127 billion cubic meters. Gasunie offers transportation services via its subsidiaries Gas Transport Services B.V. in the Netherlands and Gasunie Deutschland in Germany. In addition, the company offers other services in the gas infrastructure sector including natural gas and LNG storage.

On November 6, 2007 Gazprom and Gasunie signed the Umbrella Agreement on joint participation the Nord Stream project and BBL. On June 10, 2008 Gasunie was added into the Nord Stream AG shareholders register as a new shareholder obtaining a 9 per cent stake in the joint venture.

On December 7, 2007 Gazprom and Gasunie signed the Agreement on Science and Technical Collaboration.

On June 18, 2010 Gazprom and Gasunie signed the Memorandum of Understanding on strategic cooperation, which provides for expanding the two companies' interaction in the field of gas transportation infrastructure, underground gas storage, Nord Stream gas pipeline construction, science and Technical collaboration, LNG, environmental protection, energy efficiency, information and cultural exchange, personnel management etc.

On October 20, 2011 Gazprom, Gasunie, ZAO Eurotechnika and BioGazEnergostroy Corporation signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the joint implementation of “green gas” production project in Russia.