On 15-16 April 2004, members of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation paid a working visit to Yamburggazdobycha’s production facilities.

Yuri Komarov, Deputy Chairman of Gazprom’s Management Committee, Viktor Ilyushin, Gazprom’s Management Committee Member and Head of the Company’s Department of Relationships with Regional Authorities of the Russian Federation, Valery Yazev, Chairman of the RF State Duma’s Energy, Transportation and Communications Department, Natalia Komarova, Chairman of the RF State Duma’s Natural Resources and Nature Management Department, Mikhail Motorin, the RF Deputy Finance Minister, Oleg Tolkachev, Deputy Chairman of the RF Federal Assembly’s Natural Monopolies Commission, Sergey Konovalov, Vice Governor of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Region, Oleg Andreyev, Yamburggazdobycha’s Director General and representatives from the RF Federal Assembly’s respective committees took part in a meeting held in the course of the visit.

In presenting his speech, Yu. Komarov pointed out that legislative support was an important factor in sustaining the Russian gas standing on the global market. In his opinion, the Federal Assembly could address the Draft Laws "On Gas Pipeline Transport" and "On Natural Gas Export" as well as amendments to the Natural Resources Law.

N. Komarova stated that the Natural Resources Law needed to be promptly amended and that deputies from the Duma’s relevant committees were ready to consider a new Draft Law before it was passed by the RF Government to the State Duma in August 2004. N. Komarova also emphasized that while discussing legal and economic aspects for differentiating the taxation applied to natural resources, the State Duma’s committees hadn’t received any expert report questioning the necessity to introduce this innovation.

The RF Federal Assembly’s delegation visited social and cultural facilities of the settlement of Yamburg and Yamburggazdobycha’s production facilities at the Zapolyarnoye field.

Reference:

The Yamburggazdobycha company is Gazprom’s largest gas production unit holding licenses to develop the Zapolyarnoye and Tazovskoye fields. The total initial gas reserves of these fields account for over 10 tcm of gas, some 240 million tons of gas condensate and 370 million tons of oil.

Based on the outcomes of the 2003 year, Yamburggazdobycha produced above the target over 4.5 bcm of gas and 60 thousand tons of gas condensate, while the company’s total production accounted for over 220.9 bcm of natural gas and 1.5 million tons of gas condensate. It is for the 2nd consecutive year that Yamburgazdobycha built up its gas production: in 2002 the company’s gas extraction growth totaled 21 bcm and in 2003, 27 bcm.

The Zapolyarnoye oil and gas condensate field is located in the southern Taz district of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Region (YaNAR) and its natural gas reserves average 3.3 tcm. By 2005 Yamburgazdobycha plans to bring the Zapolyarnoye field to its design capacity of 100 bcm of gas per annum. Gazprom has contributed to the YaNAR’s economics within the annual Cooperation Agreement adopted between Gazprom and the YaNAR’s authorities. Under the Agreement, in 2003 Gazprom channeled RUR 15.8 billion in tax and other payments as well as RUR 2.8 billion for rendering financial assistance to the Region.

DIVISION OF RELATIONS WITH MASS MEDIA