On July 28, the Bogorodskoye Reception Hall of Gazprom has hosted within the implementation of an Agreement for cooperation between Gazprom and Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) the 4th regular meeting of the Joint Working Group between Gazprom and KOGAS.

The meeting was moderated by the Co-Chairmen of the Joint Working Group – Alexander Ananenkov, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee and Lee Byung-Ho, Senior Executive Vice President of KOGAS.

The Co-Chairmen appreciated the activity of the Joint Working Group over the reporting period. In particular, the parties reviewed issues of interaction in staff training and qualification upgrading, sci-tech cooperation development.

The meeting continued examining the potential for the supply of natural gas to the Republic of Korea via a single export channel along with the development of an integrated gas supply network in Russia’s East.

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At present, the Republic of Korea is almost fully dependent on LNG imports. The South Korean gas market is featured by a manifold gas transmission network linking onshore LNG terminals with major consumption provinces, which helps widely use natural gas both in the power generation and industrial & household sectors.

On May 12, 2003, Gazprom and Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) entered into the five-year Agreement for cooperation. The Agreement covers a broad spectrum of issues including potential deliveries of Russian natural gas to the Republic of Korea.

To implement the Agreement, the parties have set up a standing Joint Working Group that had its last meeting in December 2005 in Seoul.

Founded in 1983, KOGAS is a 62 per cent state-run company. KOGAS’ major business lines are construction and operation of LNG import terminals and gas distribution stations, implementation of international gas projects and research for the gas industry. The company owns three LNG import terminals.