Tomskhosted today a working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee and Sergey Zhvachkin, Governor of the Tomsk Region.

The parties discussed a number of issues relevant to cooperation deepening between the Company and the Region.

Special attention was paid to the future interaction of Gazprom and regional equipment supplies. It was highlighted that starting from 2009 until the present moment the industrial companies of the Tomsk Region had supplied Gazprom with products totally worth RUB 835 million. These include process automation equipment, communications systems, ventilation and electrical equipment, instrumentation and lighting devices.

The meeting resolved to develop a joint program for 2013–2015 on boosting the production volumes by regional industrial companies to meet Gazprom's needs. “Our program is aimed at import substitution and cost reduction by 15 to 30 per cent,” said Alexey Miller.

Alexey Miller and Sergey Zhvachkin discussed issues of staff training for the regional gas sector in the Tomsk Region. The discussion centered on setting up a regional industrial training center on the basis of Tomsk Polytechnic University and Tomsk College of Information Technologies in cooperation with the Gazprom Transgaz Tomsk training center.

After the meeting Alexey Miller and Sergey Zhvachkin visited Tomsk Electromechanical Plant, a supplier of Gazprom, as well as Tomsk Polytechnic University and Tomsk State University.

According to Alexey Miller, “We agreed to develop the Tomsk Region gasification program through 2015 stipulating a considerable, more than threefold, increase in the gasification pace and the financing volumes. Another crucial area is establishing a regional NGV fuel center by Gazprom in the Tomsk Region.

“Gazprom is an advanced and high-tech Company,” emphasized Alexey Miller. “We are going to deploy in Tomsk a center of the space system for remote sensing of the Earth in order to meet the Company's process needs.”

Special attention was paid to preparations for the Altai project.

 “It is planned to place one-third of the Altai gas pipeline in the Tomsk Region. We have got acquainted with results of preparations and surveys in place and made sure of our full readiness to launch the project after the relevant agreement on gas supplies to China is signed,” said Alexey Miller.

Background

Gazprom and the Tomsk Region Administration entered into the Agreement of Cooperation in 2004 and extended it in 2009. The Accord on Gasification was inked in 2006.

Between 2007 and 2011 the capital investments channeled by Gazprom (including subsidiary companies) to the regional budget made up RUB 33.7 billion. The funds were used, inter alia, for retrofitting the Parabel – Kuzbass gas pipeline section, the Parabel and Volodino compressor stations, building production and exploratory wells, a booster compressor station at the Myldzhinskoye field and pre-development of the Kazanskoye field. Between January and October 2012 around RUB 1.8 billion of investments were consumed.

Natural gas penetration in the Tomsk Region makes up 8.5 per cent including 7.7 per cent in cities and towns and 9.9 per cent in the rural area (the identical figures throughout Russia average 63.2 per cent, 70 per cent and 46.8 per cent accordingly).

Between 2006 and 2011 Gazprom invested more than RUB 1.3 billion to boost gasification of the Tomsk Region. With these funds, an inter-settlement gas pipeline from the Chazhemto automated gas distribution station to Kolpashevo was built and feasibility studies for another two inter-settlement gas pipelines were developed among other things. On its part, the Region Administration fully met its obligations during that period and prepared consumers for gas supplies.

In 2012 the Company is designing four inter-settlement gas pipelines.

As part of the Gazprom for Children program, an indoor track and field facility and a sports center with artificial ice were built in Tomsk and a number of other sports facilities were built in the Tomsk Region.