Documents signed on gas infrastructure expansion in eastern Russia

A Gazprom delegation headed by Vitaly Markelov, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, is taking part in the Eastern Economic Forum 2023.

A number of documents on gas infrastructure expansion in the eastern regions of Russia were signed today.

Gazprom, the Republic of Buryatia and the Transbaikal Territory signed bilateral schedules (roadmaps) for gas infrastructure expansion in said regions through 2032. A schedule (roadmap) for gas infrastructure expansion in the urban territory of Tynda through 2027 was signed with the Amur Region.

The documents were elaborated pursuant to the instruction of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

According to the roadmaps, the work to provide the potential consumers with gas supplies will be performed in a stepwise manner. The parties will jointly define the projected gas consumption volumes, and then the regions will approve the adjusted forecast fuel-and-energy balance plans (FEBPs) with due consideration of the economically justified price for gas and inter-fuel competition principles. General schemes for gas supply and gas infrastructure expansion in the regions will then be updated on the basis of the FEBPs.

After the decision regarding the sources of gas supply for the Republic of Buryatia and the Transbaikal Territory is made, the next step will be to determine gas infrastructure expansion scenarios and top-priority facilities to be provided with gas, as well as to develop programs for gas supply and gas infrastructure expansion in the regions for the period through 2032.

The gas infrastructure expansion activities to be carried out in Tynda will be included in the 2021–2025 program which is currently in force in the Amur Region. In addition, Gazprom and the Government of the Amur Region will develop a gas supply scheme for Tynda and the city administration will update the heat supply scheme to reflect the plans that provide for converting the active boiler houses to gas and building new boiler houses.

Gazprom and the Amur Region also signed a comprehensive gas infrastructure expansion schedule with regard to the town of Svobodny. The purpose of the document is to synchronize the efforts taken by the Company and the region to convert 27 municipal boiler houses to gas, as is provided for by the current 2021–2025 program.

The comprehensive schedule defines the timeframes for Gazprom to build gas distribution pipelines up to the boiler houses and for the regional administration to prepare the boiler houses to receive gas.

Gazprom Mezhregiongaz, the Irkutsk Region and Irkutsk Oil Company (INK) signed a cooperation agreement with regard to gas supply and gas infrastructure expansion in the town of Ust-Kut.

Provision of pipeline gas supplies to the town's consumers is provided for by the current 2021–2025 gas supply and gas infrastructure expansion program of the Irkutsk Region. The cooperation agreement defines the activities to be implemented by the parties during the project implementation.

Pursuant to the document, INK will build the Ust-Kut gas distribution station and a gas pipeline branch stretching from the Markovskoye oil, gas and condensate field and then will lay an inter-settlement gas pipeline stretching from the Ust-Kut gas distribution station to Ust-Kut. Alongside with that, Gazprom will build more than 160 kilometers of gas distribution networks to bring gas to the consumers of Ust-Kut. The Government of the Irkutsk Region will ensure favorable conditions for the construction of the gas infrastructure and coordinate the establishment of the gas distribution operator.

As a result of these efforts, access to network gas will be provided to about 3,000 households, as well as the town's social facilities and enterprises and three boiler houses. For instance, the Lena and Tsentralnaya coal-fired boiler houses that supply heat to the central part of Ust-Kut will be converted to eco-friendly fuel.