Today at the Gazprom Headquarters Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Company’s Management Committee and Vladimir Artyakov, Governor of the Samara Oblast signed an Agreement of Cooperation between Gazprom and the Samara Oblast Government for an indefinite period.

The document envisages the following areas of cooperation between the parties in the region:

- securing stable gas supplies to consumers;

- gasifying population centers;

- developing capacities to utilize natural gas as a motor fuel;

- designing and adopting gas-saving technologies;

- promoting sci-tech cooperation in the area of gas-pumping equipment design and production at local enterprises;

- providing environmental security and rational nature management.

The Agreement sets forth the parties’ intention to jointly work out the actions on streamlining the energy resource balance in the Oblast to make it more efficient and to provide a wider utilization of alternative and indigenous energy sources. The Agreement also describes the intention to elaborate comprehensive measures aimed at reduced gas consumption through gas-saving technologies and advanced gas-powered equipment.

The Oblast Government will secure the timely and full payment of the current gas supplies by state-owned enterprises as well as assist Gazprom in promoting gas consumption discipline.

Gazprom, on its part, will assure uninterrupted gas supply to the Samara Oblast consumers. The Company will help with allocating natural gas consumption quotas for the regional enterprises manufacturing import-substituting products.

During the meeting Alexey Miller and Vladimir Artyakov discussed the current issues of cooperation between Gazprom and the Samara Oblast Government, in particular, implementation of Gazprom’s social projects in the region.

Background:

The previous Agreement of Cooperation between Gazprom and the Samara Oblast Administration was signed on October 29, 1998.

Gazprom supplies natural gas to the Oblast consumers in the agreed amount.

Natural gas penetration in the Samara Oblast accounts for 91.2 per cent including 91.7 per cent in cities and towns and 89.5 per cent in the rural area. The identical figures throughout Russia account for 62, 67 and 44 per cent respectively.

Between 2006 and 2008 Gazprom invested RUB 120 million to promote gasification in the Samara Oblast. The funds were used to construct three inter-settlement gas pipelines.

In 2009 Gazprom allotted RUB 30 million to gasify the Samara Oblast, in particular, to construct one and to design another one inter-settlement gas pipeline.