Alexey Miller holds conference call marking Oil and Gas Industry Workers Day
Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, today held a conference call marking Oil and Gas Industry Workers Day.
The heads of Gazprom Dobycha Noyabrsk, Gazprom Dobycha Kuznetsk, Gazprom Transgaz Saratov, Gazprom Transgaz Yugorsk, and Gazprom Kyrgyzstan made operational performance reports at the meeting.
Shorthand record of message delivered by Alexey Miller
Good morning, dear colleagues,
I would like to wish you a happy professional holiday in connection with the upcoming Oil and Gas Industry Workers Day.
Needless to say, Gazprom’s primary objective is to provide our consumers with reliable gas supplies, and we are fulfilling this objective successfully.
At the same time, we also witness and capture new market trends.
First of all, it should be noted that our gas supplies to the domestic market in the past eight months were 14.7 per cent higher than in the same period of last year. Meanwhile, our exports beyond the FSU were higher by 19.4 per cent. These are excellent results.
And we also see that the seasonal profile of supplies is changing. March has become a full-fledged “winter” month, while summer is now a “green” winter.
Of course, all this puts an additional load on our gas transmission and production capacities. Moreover, this means bigger responsibilities for Gazprom.
To ensure the reliability of our gas supplies, we are implementing cutting-edge projects. Among those projects is the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. I would like to note right away that we might deliver first supplies via Nord Stream 2 to the European market as early as before the end of this year, during the upcoming heating season. All facilities required for this have been created on the Russian side: the production capacities in Yamal and the gas transmission capacities in the northern gas transmission corridor.
Everyone is well aware that the route from Yamal across the Baltic to Europe is both the shortest and the most cost-efficient one for consumers. Crucially, it is also the most environmentally-friendly route. With its low carbon footprint, it produces 5.6 times less CO2 emissions than the corridor that traverses Ukraine.
Our gas exports are growing not only in the West but also in the East. It can be seen that today, in the lead-up to the autumn/winter period, our daily gas supplies to China are exceeding our daily contractual obligations. And this, dear colleagues, happens on a regular basis.
In parallel, we are expanding the production capacities of the Chayandinskoye field and actively working towards developing the Kovyktinskoye field. As you know, we have built 370 kilometers of the Power of Siberia gas pipeline’s section between these fields by now.
We continue working on the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline project, as well as on the gas pipeline that will run across Mongolia, i.e. Soyuz Vostok.
As our production capacities are expanding in the East, our strategic presence is increasing in a very promising sector, namely processing. I would like to say that the Amur Gas Processing Plant is already 80 per cent complete and we are going to announce the launch of new production trains very soon.
The construction project for the gas processing plant in western Russia, in Ust-Luga, is also running on schedule. The plant will process ethane-containing gas from Western Siberian fields and from the Tambeyskoye field in Yamal.
There is no doubt that all these new projects will make a major contribution to further improvement of Gazprom’s performance and business efficiency, changing our income structure.
It is very encouraging that we are breaking new records in the area of finance. Our net profit for the first half of this year is almost RUB 1 trillion. This is, in fact, an all-time record for the Company. As you can imagine, this is an extremely important positive signal for our shareholders. After only six months of 2021, our dividend base is substantially higher than that for the entire year 2020.
Dear colleagues,
Our foremost priority in the domestic market is, of course, the implementation of the gas supply and gas infrastructure expansion program in Russian regions. All goals and objectives set before us by the country’s leadership are without a doubt going to be achieved.
As you know, our efforts in this regard are mainly focused on additional gas grid expansion targeting households in villages that have already been provided with gas and on the creation of the required infrastructure in rural areas without gas pipelines.
By late 2025, a total of 35 regions of the Russian Federation will in practice have their gas grid development completed to the maximum extent technically possible. And by 2030, the same will be achieved throughout the entire country. Thus, we will fully accomplish all the goals set for us by Vladimir Putin, President of Russia.
Dear colleagues,
This year, Gazprom changed its registration address. We are now officially headquartered at the Lakhta Center in St. Petersburg. At 462 meters, the building is the tallest in Europe. And it is the most famous of Europe’s new buildings, too, as it regularly receives top international awards and leads international ratings in the sphere of architecture, high-rise construction, and urban development.
I am also extremely pleased to note that our beloved corporate Fakel Festival has obtained worldwide recognition as well. It is now the largest corporate festival in terms of the number of participants, the most widespread one in terms of its regional reach, and the most multi-ethnic one. This is why the Fakel Festival is the number one corporate festival in the world. There is simply no larger or more vibrant corporate festival existing on a global scale. We are the leaders in this realm as well.
Another distinctive feature of our Company is that we pay great attention to the development of sports. In 2021, we have already built 78 modern stadiums, sports grounds and complexes under the Gazprom for Children program, and will build another 14 by the end of the year. These are serious figures, and this is our contribution to Russia’s healthy future.
Dear colleagues,
The heating season – the busiest period for us – is coming. Our number one priority is not to let our consumers feel any cold in winter at all. I am sure that the Company’s employees will achieve this objective in a streamlined manner and with all responsibility, as they usually do. As a matter of fact, this approach to work is usual for all of us at Gazprom.
Why? Because Gazprom is a company where every employee at every workplace – every worker, every specialist, every manager – contributes to the overall results every day. And this specific personal result is immensely significant. I would like to thank you for your dedication and commitment to our common cause.
On the occasion of our professional holiday, I wish you continued success and further achievements. As usual, there are even more important and ambitious projects ahead of us. I have every confidence that the set goals will be achieved, and key to that are your professional excellence, attitude, and vast experience in the implementation of large-scale projects.
So, I wish continued success and further achievements to you, and happiness and prosperity to your loved ones. And of course, dear colleagues, mind your health.
And, as we always say at Gazprom, let us go on with our work.