Gazprom and St. Petersburg Government to create industrial clusters focused on import substitution

Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Management Committee of Gazprom, and Georgy Poltavchenko, Governor of St. Petersburg, signed today at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2017 two Agreements of Cooperation.

The documents envisage the creation of two St. Petersburg-based industrial clusters composed of production, research, design and educational entities of the Northwestern Federal District. The first cluster will specialize in natural gas liquefaction equipment and technologies, while the second one will focus on high-tech solutions (including equipment for subsea hydrocarbon production systems) for resource development in the World Ocean and the Arctic.

The Agreements will help secure new import-substituting products and professional services for Gazprom, advance technological development in the Northwestern Federal District, and contribute to staff capacity-building. In addition, the clusters will attract additional investment in the economy of St. Petersburg.

In 2017, according to the action plans based on the Agreements, specialized organizations will be set up for the clusters with the purpose of providing methodological, organizational, analytical and information support for various projects. In 2019, it is planned to create engineering centers for professional training on the basis of R&D and production facilities of St. Petersburg’s leading educational institutions.

Prototypes, along with finished products for batch production, in both clusters will undergo certification in 2019–2021, with commercial production in the interests of anchor customers expected to start in 2021.