Gorno-Altaisk today hosted a joint meeting of the Commissions for Natural and Liquefied Petroleum Gas Vehicles of the Government of the Russian Federation and the Russian Gas Society (RGS) Nonprofit Partnership.

The meeting was moderated by Bogdan Budzulyak, Vice Chair of the Commission under the Government of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the Commission with RGS, Member of Gazprom’s Management Committee, Head of the Gas Transportation, Underground Storage and Utilization Department.

Present at the meeting were Alexander Berdnikov, Head of the Republic, Chairman of the Government of the Republic of Altai; Vladimir Psarov, Deputy Plenipotentiary Envoy of the President of the Russian Federation to the Siberian Federal District; Robert Paltaller, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Republic of Altai, Vasily Zinoviev, Deputy Head of the Committee on Energy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation; Vladimir Markov, State Duma Deputy; Alexey Zubenya, Deputy Chairman of the Commission, Director of RGS; Viktor Stativko, Executive Director of Russia’s National Gas Vehicles Association, heads and specialists from VNIIGAZ, Gazprom transgaz Tomsk, Gazprom transgaz Yekaterinburg, Promgaz, Gaztechleasing and other subsidiaries of Gazprom.

The participants addressed issues in relation to efficient interaction between the Russian Federation constituents and Gazprom in the expansion of natural gas utilization as a vehicle fuel in the Siberian and Far East Federal Districts.

In his speech Bogdan Budzulyak emphasized that international experience was convincingly proving the need for all power branches at the federal and regional levels to get engaged in meeting the challenge of alternative motor fuel utilization.

“Eighty countries of the world have enacted legislative acts with direct effect and are financing state and interstate programs. The world’s largest car builders have organized production of natural gas vehicles,” – noted Bogdan Budzulyak. According to him, the main stimulus for compressed gas utilization as a vehicle fuel is its low price versus gasoline and diesel oil. “Each cubic meter of gas used as a motor fuel enables an NGV owner in Russia to save from 15 to 17 rubles,” – said Bogdan Budzulyak.

The participants of the meeting emphasized that it was necessary to speed up the adoption of the Federal Law on the Usage of Alternative Vehicle Fuels and the Federal Vehicles Gasification Program.

Based on the meeting results it was recommended that the heads of the Russian Federation constituents with sufficient pipeline natural gas reserves develop and submit to regional legislative authorities draft legislative acts regulating and stimulating utilization of natural gas as a vehicle fuel.

In addition, it was recommended that financing mechanisms be developed and approved for actions aimed at converting motor vehicles to natural gas.

Background:

The Commission for Natural and Liquefied Petroleum Gas Vehicles of the Government of the Russian Federation was established in 1994. The Commission includes representatives of leading ministries and departments. In 2003 the identical Commission was set up by the Russian Gas Society. The Commission comprises representatives of governors of the Russian Federation constituents. The Commissions are primarily responsible for the decision-making and recommendations on legislative, organizational and sci-tech aspects surrounding the conversion of motor vehicles and agricultural equipment to natural gas fuelling.

The Russian fleet of natural gas vehicles is estimated at about 95,000 units. Currently, there are 221 CNG filling stations operational in 60 Russian regions, with 198 facilities owned by Gazprom. The aggregate design capacity of CNG stations is around 2 bcm a year.

In 2007 Russian CNG stations sold over 310 mcm of gas. As a result, in 2007 Russian companies using CNG for their motor vehicles saved more than RUB 3.7 bln, and atmospheric emissions shrank 117 tons.

In 2007 Gazprom approved the Targeted Comprehensive Program for the CNG Filling Network and NGV Fleet Development over 2007 to 2015. The Program stipulates:

• constructing a further 200 CNG stations in Russia at the expense of Gazprom;
• increasing the Russian fleet of natural gas vehicles by 50 thousand units in areas with new CNG stations;
• boosting gas production for natural gas vehicles by 2.7 bcm a year;
• equipping all federal and regional motorways with CNG stations;
• deploying 90 new mobile NGV refuellers;
• reducing pollutant emissions by 960 thousand tons a year.

There are 12 CNG stations constructed in the Siberian Federal District, with 10 owned by Gazprom.

Gazprom and the authorities of a number of constituents in the Siberian and Far Eastern Federal Districts signed the agreements of cooperation and accords on gasification stipulating joint NGV related activities.