Documents signed to expand gas supply and gas infrastructure network and develop NGV market in Russian regions

A number of documents aimed at expanding the gas supply and gas infrastructure network and developing the NGV market in Russian regions were signed today at St. Petersburg International Gas Forum 2024.

Natural gas is the most cost-effective and eco-friendly fuel for energy supplies to households and boiler houses of enterprises, as well as for use in vehicles. Gazprom's goal is to create the conditions required for bringing the advantages of natural gas to as many people in Russia as possible.

Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Rostislav Goldstein, Governor of the Jewish Autonomous Region, signed a schedule (roadmap) for connecting the city of Birobidzhan to the Belogorsk – Khabarovsk gas pipeline through 2032.

The parties will identify the economically justified projected gas demand and draw up a list of exact consumers located in Birobidzhan. The projected fuel-and-energy balance plan (FEBP) of the region will be adjusted taking into account said data, as well as the economically justified price for gas and the principles of inter-fuel competition. The updated FEBP will serve as the basis for the parties to draw up the program for gas supply and gas infrastructure expansion in the Jewish Autonomous Region, which will include the activities for gas infrastructure expansion in Birobidzhan.

Gazprom will be responsible for performing the gas infrastructure expansion activities for the city's consumers, and the regional authorities will be responsible for preparing the consumers for receiving gas supplies.

Alexey Miller and Mikhail Kotyukov, Governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, signed a schedule (roadmap) for gas infrastructure expansion in the region. The document outlines the activities for gas infrastructure expansion in the city of Krasnoyarsk through 2028.

At present, in the absence of gas transmission infrastructure for pipeline gas supplies to the consumers in Krasnoyarsk, Gazprom has elaborated off-grid gas supply options with the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG). In parallel, the Company is making preparations for the design development of a gas trunkline to provide Krasnoyarsk with grid gas from Russia's Unified Gas Supply System.

The roadmap for gas infrastructure expansion envisages several key stages. First of all, the list of LNG consumers and the projected FEBP of the region through 2035 will be drawn up taking into account the economically justified price for gas and the principles of inter-fuel competition. Gazprom will perform the design development for the construction of a natural gas liquefaction complex complete with the systems for LNG reception, storage and regasification.

After that, the parties will prepare and approve the program for gas supply and gas infrastructure expansion in the Krasnoyarsk Territory for 2026–2030. The program will include the activities required to provide off-grid gas supplies to consumers, and, after a final investment decision is made with regard to the gas trunkline, the program will be supplemented with gas grid expansion facilities for the consumers.

The roadmaps for the Jewish Autonomous Region and the Krasnoyarsk Territory were drawn up in pursuance of the instructions of Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation.

Also signed by Alexey Miller and Mikhail Kotyukov was an Agreement on a wider use of natural gas as a vehicle fuel. The aims stipulated by the document include the improvement of environmental quality in the region.

The parties will look into the possibility of implementing joint projects for the conversion of the region's vehicles to natural gas. The list of exact measures and the timeframes for their performance will be outlined in the corresponding roadmap.

Alexey Miller and Alexey Besprozvannykh, Governor of the Kaliningrad Region, signed an Agreement of Cooperation.

The parties will continue their collaboration in a range of areas. For instance, Gazprom will ensure further reliable gas supplies to the regional consumers, continue bringing gas to urban and rural localities and keep on developing the NGV market.

The region's Government will support the Company in the implementation of its projects, work on the expansion of the municipal fleet of NGVs and perform the activities aimed at strengthening the financial discipline of natural gas consumers.

Alexey Miller, Andrey Bocharov, Governor of the Volgograd Region, and Rafael Batyrshin, Director General of RariTEK Holding, signed a Coordination Agreement. The aim of the document is to achieve a wider use of natural gas in the agro-industrial complex of the region.

Gazprom is ready to supply agricultural producers with compressed or liquefied natural gas, and RariTEK is ready to supply them with natural gas-powered agricultural machinery. The regional administration will provide support measures to the market participants.

In furtherance of the agreement, a roadmap between Gazprom Helium Service, the Volgograd Region and RariTEK Holding was signed in the presence of Alexey Miller.

The document outlines a number of specific activities for converting the region's agricultural machinery and equipment to liquefied natural gas.

The following documents were also signed in the presence of Alexey Miller.

An Agreement of Cooperation was signed between Gazprom Helium Service and UK Polyus (Polyus Managing Company). The parties will explore the possibility of implementing a pilot project for converting quarry machinery to LNG and for off-grid gas supplies to the boiler houses of the Polyus Aldan gold mining enterprise in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

Gazprom and the governments of two constituent entities of the Russian Federation, namely the city of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, signed synchronization plans (roadmaps) for developing their NGV fuel markets.

The plans (roadmaps) were concluded in furtherance of previous documents. The roadmap signed with St. Petersburg covers the period from 2024 through 2027, and the one signed with the Leningrad Region is for the period from 2024 through 2026.

Under the documents, the parties will continue creating the conditions required for converting motor vehicles to natural gas. For instance, Gazprom will further develop the NGV refueling network across the city and the region, while St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region will provide support measures to the Company and car owners, as well as work on expanding the NGV fleets.

A number of novel natural gas-powered vehicles and machinery developed for the needs of Gazprom are on display at SPIGF 2024.

For example, the Gorky Automobile Plant manufactured two models of special-purpose vehicles powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) that have been created to transport working crews, as well as their equipment and tools, to the gas facilities for maintenance, repair and restoration works. The vehicles have a modern hi-tech interior design.

On display by AMK Standart is CNG- and LNG-powered construction machinery, namely, sample models of a backhoe loader and a compact excavator, as well as a tracked bulldozer model. In the future, machinery of this type can be put into use at the facilities of the Gazprom Group.