The Gazprom headquarters hosted today a working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Company's Management Committee and Vasily Golubev, Governor of the Rostov Region.

The parties reviewed the progress with the Cooperation Agreement, in particular, the regional gasification issues. The meeting noted that the Company had channeled some RUB 3 billion to the regional gasification between 2002 and 2011. As a result of the collaboration between Gazprom and the Rostov Region Government, the gasification level in the region rose by 20.3 per cent – up to 79.5 per cent. The average gasification level in Russia stands at 63.2 per cent.

In 2012 Gazprom began constructing three inter-settlement gas pipelines and completed another six inter-settlement gas pipelines. Two of them connected to the Zavetnoye and Kilselevka settlements of the Zavetinsky District, will be commissioned on December 29, 2012. Till now, the Zavetinsky District remains the last non-gasified area in the Rostov Region.

The parties discussed the issues of the large-scale construction of Sothern Corridor – the gas transmission system (GTS) that, inter alia, would run via the Rostov Region. It is planned to build in the Region a 646 kilometer line pipe section (393 kilometers – along the Western Route, 253 kilometers – along the Eastern Route) as well as the Shakhtinskaya and Salskaya compressor stations. Construction and installation operations started at the line pipe section of the Western Route. Gazprom and the Rostov Region Government set up a joint working group responsible for the project management.

The meeting also addressed the issues of natural gas use as a motor fuel. At the moment, Gazprom is elaborating a feasibility study for the construction of four compressed natural gas (CNG) filling stations in the region. Moreover, the Company submitted a draft Program for Expanding Regional CNG Filling Stations Network for consideration by the Rostov Region Government.

Background

The Cooperation Agreement between Gazprom and the Rostov Region Government was signed in 2002, the Gasification Accord – in 2007.

The Southern Corridor gas pipeline system will provide additional gas volumes to central and southern Russia and, therefore, help to boost industrial and household development, intensify gasification and ensure uninterrupted gas supplies to the South Stream gas trunkline.

The gas transmission system length will total 2,506.2 kilometers. 10 compressor stations with the total capacity of 1,516 MW will be constructed as part of the project. The annual throughput of the Southern Corridor gas pipeline system will amount to 63 billion cubic meters of gas. The project will be implemented between 2010 and 2017.

The project covers eight Russian constituents: the Nizhny Novgorod, Penza, Saratov, Volgograd, Voronezh, Rostov Regions, the Republic of Mordovia and the Krasnodar Territory.

Nine versatile sports grounds were built in the Rostov Regions within the Gazprom for Children program. At present, Gazprom is involved in the construction of Children's and Youth Equitation School (Lopanka settlement of the Tselinsky District) and ten cutting-edge versatile sports grounds.