Gazprom and Ivanovo Region signed Cooperation Agreement
Today, at Gazprom’s Headquarters, Alexey Miller, Gazprom’s Management Committee Chairman and Vladimir Tikhonov, Governor of the Ivanovo Region, signed a 5-year Cooperation Agreement.
The Agreement stipulates cooperation deepening between Gazprom and the Ivanovo Region in the following main directions:
- expanding gas deliveries to cities, towns and localities;
- making stable gas deliveries to the population and regional budget-financed bodies;
- developing capacities spurring wider use of gas motor fuel;
- developing and introducing gas saving technologies;
- implementing a program on housing construction for Gazprom’s current and retired employees being re-settled from the Extreme North regions;
- ensuring environmental safety and rational nature management;
- devising and implementing a program on increased accuracy of gas consumption measurement.
The Ivanovo Region’s Government took the commitment to make timely and full payments for current and previous gas deliveries effected to state-financed bodies and to thoroughly offset Gazprom’s losses when granting statutory natural gas subsidies to eligible consumers. While building the regional budget, the Ivanovo authorities will annually channel funds intended to pay off gas supplies effected to budget-financed bodies.
The Ivanovo Region’s authorities will also assist Regional consumers in signing direct contracts with gas suppliers having Gazprom’s authorization to do so. In addition, the Regional Administration will timely decide on the amount of special caps included into tariffs on gas transmission via gas distribution networks and intended for financing programs on gas supply intensification.
Gazprom will also receive assistance when registering social and residential facilities to be transferred under the municipal ownership.
Gazprom, in its turn, took up the commitment to provide secure gas deliveries to Regional consumers, taking into consideration the United Gas Transmission System capacities, solvent consumers' gas demand and payment discipline.
Under the Agreement, the parties will jointly step up measures aimed at improving the Ivanovo’s Region energy balance, i.e. rationalizing and using alternative energy sources on a larger scale.
Background
Gazprom and the Ivanovo Region first entered into a Cooperation Agreement in March 1999.
Last year, Gazprom provided Regional consumers with over 2 bcm of gas, with roughly the same amount scheduled to be supplied this year.
Having no gas debt to Gazprom, the Ivanovo Regions’s gas consumers channeled over RUR 46 million in advance payments, as of 1 October 2004. Nevertheless, the Regions’s debt for offsetting Gazprom’s losses when granting natural gas subsidies to eligible consumers reached almost RUR 24 million, as of 1 October 2004.
The gas supply infrastructure of the Ivanovo Region is developed at 64.7% of maximum gas demand, including 77.7%, in cities, towns and urban settlements and 17.5%, in rural area (The same Russia-averaged parameters account for 52.7%, 60.2% and 33.1%, respectively). In accordance with the Program on expansion of gas deliveries to the RF regions, Gazprom has so far met its investment target for the Ivanovo Region, earmarking some RUR 50.5 million to intensify gas consumption in the region.
Information Directorate, OAO Gazprom