Gazprom completed preparation of the project documents for Phase 1 of the Southern Corridor gas transmission system (GTS). The documents were submitted to the State Expert Review Board (Glavgosekspertiza) for consideration.

The Southern Corridor will convey gas, inter alia, into South Stream planned for construction ahead of schedule – in December 2012 as assigned by Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation. Timely submission of the documents to Russian Glavgosekspertiza is a crucial milestone in Gazprom's stagewise activities aimed at synchronized construction of the two interrelated gas transmission systems.

According to the schedule, Phase 1 of the Southern Corridor GTS will start as early as in December 2012 to be accomplished in 2015 in parallel with the launch of the South Stream first stage.

Phase 1 of the Southern Corridor project stipulates building a 834 kilometer linepipe between the Pisarevka compressor station (CS) in the Voronezh Oblast and the Russkaya CS in the Krasnodar Krai including construction of four CSs (Shakhtinskaya, Korenovskaya, Kazachya and Russkaya). A 57 kilometer interconnector from the Kubanskaya CS to the Korenovskaya CS will also be constructed within Phase 1. Besides, the existing corridor connecting Petrovsk with Pisarevka will be retrofitted.

Background

Gazprom Group is implementing the Southern Corridor GTS project in the aim of supplying additional gas to a number of Russia's central and southern regions in order to develop industries and utilities, intensify gasification and ensure gas supply into South Stream.

The Southern Corridor GTS construction project covers eight Russian constituents: the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, the Republic of Mordovia, the Penza, Saratov, Volgograd, Voronezh and Rostov Oblasts, as well as the Krasnodar Krai.

Gas trunklines with the length of 2,446 kilometers and 10 compressor stations with the total capacity of 1,473 MW will be built as part of the project that is divided into two phases. The execution deadline is December 2019.

Phase 2 of the Southern Corridor GTS construction project contemplates building a 1,612 kilometer linepipe and six CSs in seven Russian constituents.

Gazprom acts as the project investor, while Peter Gaz and Giprospetsgaz – as the customer and the general designer accordingly.