Today Uraltransgaz base (Yekaterinburg) has hosted a meeting on issues related to the execution of the Targeted Comprehensive Program for the Development of Natural Gas Vehicles and Fueling Stations over 2007 to 2015.

The meeting was moderated by Bogdan Budzulyak, Member of the Gazprom Management Committee, Head of the Gas Transportation, Underground Storage and Utilization Department. The meeting was attended by heads and specialists of the core business units of Gazprom and its subsidiaries, representatives of the Sverdlovsk Oblast Administration and National Gas Vehicle Association.

The participants underscored that the expansion of natural gas utilization for motor transport is a Gazprom’s important business direction for business diversification enabling to sell product at higher value added cost.

The Targeted Comprehensive Program for the Development of Natural Gas Vehicles and Fueling Stations over 2007 to 2015 execution will have the significant social and economic effect. Additionally, the Program will stimulate efficient national project execution in the health service sector due to fuel cost decrease. The Program will positively influence Gazprom activities for the Russia’s regional gasification embracing the comprehensive gas utilization and branch pipeline loading increase. The meeting expressed common opinion that switching of motor transport to natural gas can become an activity performed within the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics preparation.

The meeting pointed out that the Ural region has a leading position in utilizing natural gas as motor fuel. In 2006 the region’s share for the all-Russia gas engine fuel marketing is at nearly 17.5 per cent. Gazprom, the Russian Railroads and Sverdlovsk Oblast Administration organized the operation of LNG and CNG locomotives at the test site of Sverdlovsk railroad.

In the frames of the Gazprom intra-corporate management structure enhancement the participants discussed the set up of a specialized enterprise Gazprom avtogaz for CNG production and marketing, which will include affiliated branches of Gazprom subsidiaries.

The core business units of the Company and subsidiaries were tasked to increase the Program execution efficiency.

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The Russian fleet of natural gas vehicles is estimated at about 85,000 units. Currently, 59 Russian regions use 219 gas fuelling compressor stations with a total design capacity of 2 bcm. 88 per cent of these stations (191 facilities) are owned by Gazprom.

The existing network enables to fill in 200-259 thousand units with CNG and organize cargo and passenger motor transportation services via the main motor transport directions: Russia’s North-South, Northern Caucus, Povolzhye, Ural and Eastern Siberia.

Russia has seen an annual 25 per cent increase in natural gas consumption by motor vehicles over recent years. In 2006 Russian gas fuelling stations sold 286 mcm of gas. Only in 2006 Russian enterprises using CNG saved more than RUR 2.8 bln and emissions of harmful air pollutants reduced to 108 thousand tons.

In 2007 Gazprom approved the Targeted Comprehensive Program for the Development of Natural Gas Vehicles and Fueling Stations over 2007 to 2015 which stipulates the construction of 200 fueling stations in Russia by Gazprom.