Gazprom and Kostroma Region signed enter into Cooperation Agreement
Today, at Gazprom’s Headquarters, Alexey Miller, Gazprom’s Management Committee Chairman and Viktor Shershunov, Head of the Kostroma Region, entered into a 5-year Cooperation Agreement.
Under the Agreement signed, Gazprom and the Kostroma Region’s joint major businesses will be as follows:
- expanding gas deliveries to cities, towns and localities;
- improving the system of sustainable gas supplies to consumers;
- developing capacities spurring wider use of gas motor fuel;
- promoting Gazpromtrubinvest’s pipe manufacture;
- developing and introducing gas saving technologies;
- ensuring eco-safety;
- devising and implementing a program on higher accuracy of gas consumption measurement.
Under the Agreement, the Kostroma Region’s Government is committed to timely and fully offset Gazprom’s losses when granting statutory natural gas subsidies to privileged consumers. While building the regional budget, the Kostroma authorities will annually channel funds to pay off current and previous gas deliveries effected to budget-financed bodies.
At the same time, the Agreement covers the Regional authorities’ commitments when granting tax reliefs to Gazprom’s subsidiaries implementing investment, construction and other projects in the region. 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.
The Agreement prescribes special tariff caps being introduced for gas transmission by gas distribution companies to finance gas consumption intensification projects.
The parties will jointly step up measures aimed at improving the the Kostroma Region’s energy balance, i.e. rationalizing and using alternative energy sources on a larger scale.
Background
Gazprom and the Kostroma Region first entered into a Cooperation Agreement in March 1999.
Last year, Gazprom provided Regional consumers with some 4 bcm of gas, with roughly the same amount planned to be supplied this year.
Over 2001 to 2002, the Kostroma Region’s consumers' gas debt decreased from RUR 1.48 billion to RUR 15.8 million. However, this debt was growing over 2003 and the 9 months of 2004 and, as of 1 October 2004, exceeded RUR 90 million.
The gas supply infrastructure of the Kostroma Region is developed at 43.6% of maximum gas demand, including 58.7%, in cities, towns and urban settlements and 15.4%, 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 will invest some RUR 103 million in the Kostroma Region’s gas supply infrastructure this year.
Being a Gazprom subsidiary, Gazpromtrubinvest had the Kostromatrubinvest business name before June 2003. The company specializes in gas and oil pipe production for the oil and gas industry, overally reaching 250 thousand tons of pipes per annum.
Information Directorate, OAO Gazprom