Today in Minsk, Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee took part in commissioning of the upgraded Zapadnaya gas distribution station (GDS).

The event was also attended by Vladimir Semashko, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus, Alexander Ozerets, Energy Minister of the Republic of Belarus, Vladimir Mayorov, Director General of Beltransgaz  as well as heads of the Minsk Municipal Executive Committee and the Beltopgaz state-owned production association.

The Zapadnaya GDS is among giant gas distribution stations of Minsk. The GDS upgrade helped materially improve the reliability of gas supply to the city. The peak load of the GDS surpassed its nominal capacity (404 thousand cubic meters per hour) and sometimes reached 446 thousand cubic meters per hour during the winter period. By now, its nominal capacity has grown 1.5 times – to 600 thousand cubic meters per hour. This will enable the GDS to meet gas demand in the future when new large gas consumers, like heat and power generating facilities, will come onstream in the city.

The Zapadnaya GDS upgrade started in May 2012 and was carried out on a tight schedule. Up-to-date materials and equipment as well as advanced engineering solutions were used in upgrade operations. The new GDS fully complies with all environmental and firefighting standards applied at Gazprom's facilities and throughout Belarus. Operations related risks were minimized.

“The station was upgraded due to the fact that Beltransgaz had been integrated into Gazprom. At present, Beltransgaz has an opportunity to carry out the large-scale investment program aimed at advancement of the entire gas transmission system throughout the Republic, and to expand UGS and gas transmission capacities. Another 35 gas distribution stations are to be upgraded until the end of 2015. This work guarantees reliable gas supplies to industrial enterprises and Belarusian consumers for many years to come,” said Alexey Miller.

Background

The Zapadnaya GDS is one of three stations that supply the Minsk gas distribution system with natural gas. The Zapadnaya GDS was commissioned in 1983. Its upgrade was performed by Beltransgaz.

On November 25, 2011, in furtherance of the intergovernmental agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, Gazprom and the State Property Committee of the Republic of Belarus entered into the purchase and sale contract for a 50 per cent stake in Beltransgaz. Taking account of the 50 per cent stake in Beltransgaz acquired by Gazprom between 2007 and 2010, Gazprom became the owner of 100 per cent of Beltransgaz shares.