Speech by Alexey Miller at the pre-New Year telephone conference
Esteemed colleagues, dear friends!
On behalf of the Gazprom Management Committee and my personal behalf, I would like to congratulate all the employees of Gazprom Group and the gas industry veterans with wonderful holidays – the New Year and Christmas!
The outgoing year of 2011 was full of significant and large-scale events surrounding the rapid development of Gazprom. They took place throughout our huge Allied State – Russia and Belarus.
In the west we recreated the Unified Gas Supply System of Russia and Belarus and made it more reliable. This historic event may be briefly and succinctly called as “we are together again”.
In the northwest the first string of Nord Stream was commissioned. For the first time in the history of the gas industry the Russian and European gas transmission systems are connected directly. Nord Stream significantly strengthened the energy security of Europe and severely lowered Russian export's reliance on transit risks.
In the east the construction of the first startup complex of the Sakhalin – Khabarovsk – Vladivostok gas transmission system (GTS) was completed. This is the first interregional GTS located in Eastern Russia. The startup complex was built in record short time, just in two years, and fully on schedule. Thus, it triggered the large-scale gasification of Russia's Far East and created conditions for gas supplies to Asia-Pacific.
In the north the unique Prirazlomnaya offshore ice-resistant stationary platform was installed at the Prirazlomnoye oil field in the Pechora Sea in 2011.
In the south Gazprom commissioned Dzhubga – Lazarevskoye – Sochi, the first offshore gas pipeline designed for supplying gas to Russian consumers. It made a significant contribution to providing Olympic facilities with energy and actively developing the infrastructure of the Caucasian regions of the Black Sea.
In 2011 Gazprom achieved several records. Thus, investments in the Russian Regions Gasification Program, the Company's most ambitious social project, exceeded RUB 29 billion. These funds allowed to supply gas to nearly 390 towns and settlements around the country. There is no doubt that in the future the gasification of Russia will reach the highest economically sound level.
By the start of 2011–2012 heating season Gazprom increased the performance of the underground gas storage facilities to the record high level. The operating reserve of 65.2 billion cubic meters, the largest one in the domestic gas industry history, was created.
There is one more example – in 2011 Gazprom built the power generating capacities of above 1.7 GW throughout the country which exceeded those created by RAO UES of Russia during the entire period of its existence.
Esteemed colleagues!
The year of 2011 became an important stage in the history of Gazprom as a global energy company.
In 2012 we will carry on our major efforts. In the coming year it is planned to:
- commission the Bovanenkovskoye field as part of the Yamal megaproject;
- start oil production from the Prirazlomnoye field;
- complete construction of Nord Stream's second string.
It is planned to transit the South Stream project to the investment stage, to the construction stage. I would like to congratulate all the Gazprom employees on a notable event – obtaining the permit for constructing the offshore project section through the exclusive economic zone of Turkey. The scale of this historic event is equivalent to launching the South Stream construction yesterday.
In 2012 construction of the Yakutia – Khabarovsk – Vladivostok gas transmission system will be launched, and the Russian regions gasification will be ongoing.
This is not all from the list of the targeted projects that are planned to be implemented. I am confident that the team of Gazprom's employees will cope with all the outstanding tasks in an appropriate manner.
Esteemed colleagues, dear friends!
I sincerely thank all the executives and employees of Gazprom for the work done in 2011. We are surely on the way to reach our major goal of becoming the leader in the energy market. We have everything to achieve this.
Let the coming year be lucky and fruitful. I wish robust health, happiness, well-being and all the best to you!