Gazprom and YaNAA enter into Agreement on Cooperation over 2006
Release
Today, at Gazprom’s Headquarters, Alexey Miller, Chairman of Gazprom’s Management Committee and Yury Neyolov, Governor of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area (YaNAA) have entered into an Agreement on Cooperation over 2006.
The Agreement outlines a broad range of issues in regard with bilateral cooperation, and is aimed at promoting traditionally friendly partnership ties. The Agreement sets out mutual commitments in the asset management, manufacturing, capital construction, energy conservation and nature management sectors as well as in the tax, pricing and social policies.
In pursuance of the Agreement, Gazprom will provide YaNAA with hydrocarbon feedstock and YaNAA’s authorities will secure pertinent payments by authorized companies.
Over 2006 Gazprom will complete the construction of the Obskaya gas distribution station at a gas offshoot to the towns of Salekhard, Labytnanghi and Kharp and will keep on building gas supply infrastructure in the settlement of Tazovsky and the Zapolyarnoye-Tazovsky motor highway.
In the energy conservation and environmental protection sectors, the parties will first and foremost implement joint regional programs focused on:
- constructing gas supply infrastructure;
- enhancing the efficiency of fuel and energy companies;
- expanding the use of natural gas as motor fuel;
- utilizing low-pressure gas and associated petroleum gas for the construction of new power plants;
- converting gas-fired boilers to TPPs.
The Agreement places an emphasis on meeting YaNAA’s social challenges, with a range of measures to be approved in the first quarter of 2006 for Gazprom’s subsidiaries to preferentially recruit qualified laborforce from YaNAA’s inhabitants including the indigenous population of the North.
Along with further conveying title to the welfare infrastructure built by Gazprom’s subsidiaries to YaNAA’s municipalities, the parties will continue joint endeavors to resettle Gazprom’s current and former employees, who took part in the Great Patriotic War, to areas with favorable climatic conditions.
Background
The Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area (YaNAA) is a major gas production province of Gazprom, where the company produces over 90 per cent of its overall gas (some 83 per cent of the Russian total) and operates through the seven subsidiaries including Urengoygazprom, Nadymgazprom, Yamburggazdobycha, Noyabrskgazdobycha, Nadymstroygazdobycha, Novy Urengoy Gas Chemicals Facility and Urengoystroygaz.
Cooperation between Gazprom and YaNAA is being fundamentally regulated by a General Agreement. To promote this Agreement, the parties have signed additional agreements and contracts, a Memorandum of Cooperation and the aforementioned Agreement on Cooperation.
Over 2004 and from January to October of 2005 Gazprom supplied YaNAA with 1.1 bcm and 0.8 bcm of gas, respectively.
At present YaNAA has no debt for the natural gas supplied.
Information Directorate, OAO Gazprom