Today, Irkutsk has hosted a joint meeting of the Russian Federation Government and Noncommercial Partnership Russian Gas Society’s Commissions for Natural and Liquefied Petroleum Gas Vehicles.

The meeting was moderated by Bogdan Budzulyak, Vice Chair of the Commission under the Government of the Russian Federation, Chairman of Russian Gas Society’s Commission, Member of the Gazprom Management Committee, Head of the Gazprom Gas Transportation, Underground Storage and Utilization Department.

Present at the meeting were Yury Paranichev, Acting Governor of the Irkutsk Oblast, members of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, members of the administrations headed by the Plenipotentiary Envoys of the Russian Federation President to the Far East and Siberian Federal Districts, representatives of regional and municipal authorities of the Far East and Siberian FDs, heads and specialists of Gazprom subsidiaries.

The participants examined the state of and prospects for natural gas utilization as a motor fuel in the Siberian and Far East FDs.

The meeting underscored that the number of CNG filling stations and vehicles in the Siberian FD was significantly falling behind the level reached by European Russia, with the Far East FD having no CNG filling stations at all.

At the same time, the gasification level of the Altai Krai, Irkutsk, Kemerovo, Novosibirsk, Omsk and Tomsk Oblasts in the Siberian FD, Khabarovsk Krai and Sakhalin Oblast in the Far East FD as well as the availability of a sufficient number of motor vehicles in these regions make large scale development of the CNG filling network economically efficient.

At the end of the meeting the heads of the Siberian and Far East FDs supplied with sufficient volumes of pipeline natural gas were tasked to develop and submit for the approval of the regional legislative authorities draft legislative acts regulating and stimulating gas engine fuel utilization as well as to develop and approve financing mechanisms for vehicles to operate on natural gas.

In the constituents of the Siberian and Far East FDs where pipeline gas is absent, the NGV filling network will be developed on a by-stage basis in parallel with the execution of the Program on setting up an integrated gas production, transportation and supply system in Eastern Siberia and the Far East, with due regard of possible gas export to the markets of China and other Asia-Pacific countries.

“Expanded utilization of gas as a motor fuel in the Siberian and Far East FDs is an important element of Gazprom strategy in Russia’s East. Comprehensive natural gas utilization will stimulate the development of production capacities, environmental improvements and better living standards in the region,” underscored Bogdan Budzulyak.

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The Government of the Russian Federation and Noncommercial Partnership Russian Gas Society’s Commissions for Natural and Liquefied Petroleum Gas Vehicles were established in 1994 and 2003, respectively. Both Commissions are primarily responsible for the decision-making and recommendations on legislative, organizational and sci-tech aspects surrounding the conversion of light duty and agricultural transport to gas.

The Russian fleet of natural gas vehicles is estimated at about 75,000 units. Currently, 59 Russian regions use 218 gas fuelling compressor stations with a total design capacity of 2 bcm. 88 per cent of these stations (191 facilities) are owned by Gazprom.

In 2006 Russian CNG filling stations sold 286 mcm of gas. As a result, only in 2006 Russian enterprises using CNG for their motor vehicles saved more than RUR 2.8 bln, and atmospheric emissions shrank 108 tons.

In 2007 Gazprom approved the Targeted Comprehensive Program for the CNG filling network and NGV fleet development over 2007 to 2015, which stipulates a further 200 CNG filling stations to be constructed in Russia by Gazprom only. The Program execution will enable to additionally fuel more than 400 thousand units of motor vehicles and agricultural equipment with natural gas, and bring the efforts embracing conversion of railroad transport and agricultural equipment to natural gas from the R&D to commercial operation level.

11 CNG filling stations were constructed in the Siberian FD with 10 owned by Gazprom.

Gazprom and the authorities of six constituents in the Siberian FD and three constituents in the Far East FD signed the Agreements of cooperation stipulating joint NGV related activities.