Benefits of natural gas need to be comprehensively used for agricultural development

A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Dmitry Patrushev, Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, took place today.

The parties discussed the prospects for the use of gas as vehicle fuel in the domestic agro-industrial complex. It was highlighted that natural gas is the most cost-effective type of fuel, which makes it possible to cut costs by over half as compared to gasoline or diesel fuel and thus reduce the prime cost of agricultural products.

Another important advantage of vehicles powered by natural gas is their high level of eco-friendliness.

Gazprom consistently creates possibilities for a wider use of natural gas in transport. The Company continues to expand the NGV refueling network (405 facilities by the beginning of 2023) and, in addition to that, actively cooperates with leading automakers with a view to expanding the model range of gas-powered cars and machinery. As a result, the demand for gas as vehicle fuel grows every year across the country (the total sales of this type of fuel have increased fourfold since 2012, amounting to about 1.5 billion cubic meters in 2022).

It was noted that the benefits offered by natural gas need to be used for agricultural development to the fullest extent possible. According to expert estimates, the potential consumption of gas as vehicle fuel in the domestic agro-industrial complex amounts to 300–400 million cubic meters of gas per year.

In the course of the meeting, Alexey Miller and Dmitry Patrushev signed an Agreement of Cooperation. The document aims to establish a long-term mutually beneficial business partnership in order to create state support measures aimed at agricultural producers, manufacturers of gas-fueled agricultural machinery and manufacturers of mobile NGV refuelers, as well as to facilitate the expansion of the agricultural NGVs lineup and mobile gas filling infrastructure.