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Vladimir Putin offers congratulations on Gazprom’s 25th anniversary

Message to the Media

A working meeting took place today between Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, and Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee.

Alexey Miller briefed Vladimir Putin on the major achievements of the Company over the past 25 years and on the progress of the strategic projects. Russian President offered his congratulations to the staff of Gazprom.

In the course of a video call, Vladimir Putin watched presentations about the new sports facilities built under the Gazprom for Children program.

Gazprom website Editorial Board

SHORTHAND RECORD

Vladimir Putin: Mr. Miller, tomorrow will mark the 25th anniversary of Gazprom, which is probably the strongest domestic company partly owned by the state. I would like to congratulate you and every member of Gazprom’s system, the entire enormous staff of our leading company, on this milestone. I would like to note that you have taken giant strides toward consolidating, preserving and developing the industry over those 25 years.

We all remember very well the time when the state nearly lost control of this company. One can say without exaggeration that Gazprom is the backbone of Russian economy. For many years, from the 1990s to the early 2000s, when the economy was struggling, it was mainly Gazprom that kept us afloat. It produced the required resources for power and heat generation, offering prices and tariffs well below the market rates. Thanks to Gazprom, all of the other sectors could advance their efforts, discarding outdated solutions and investing into development.

Meanwhile, Gazprom has also done a tremendous amount of work in upgrading and expanding its capacities. Today, Gazprom operates 151 fields. I do not think that there is any other company in the world that has cast a net as wide, in a good way.

You are active in 34 countries across the globe, with a large number of partners and friends. I know that Gazprom is not only growing nationwide, by connecting new consumers to gas across the country, but is also very visible abroad, as a significant part of the state budget revenue comes primarily from your gas exports.

I congratulate you and all employees of Gazprom on your achievements and your anniversary.

Alexey Miller: Mr. President, Gazprom is celebrating its 25th anniversary at the top of the global rankings. The Company has been ranked first among the world’s top 250 oil, gas, and power majors. Gazprom holds the world’s largest gas reserves, owning over 17 percent of the global total. Its resource potential is consistently expanding, as the Company’s reserve growth has exceeded the annual amount of gas production since 2005.

We have created new gas production centers in Russia’s Far East and Eastern Siberia. Most importantly, we have established a new such center in the Yamal Peninsula from scratch, right in the Arctic. The Yamal gas production center is becoming crucial to Gazprom’s efforts. It is Yamal that gives the Company its largest additions in gas reserves at the moment. In the Tambey group of fields alone, we have 7.7 trillion cubic meters of gas.

Gazprom has a large production complex with the overall capacity of over 550 billion cubic meters. By producing 471 billion cubic meters per year as of 2017, the Company is able to promptly and reliably meet peak demand from Russian consumers in the autumn/winter periods, as well as the increasing demand for Russian pipeline gas in international markets.

The Company consistently develops its gas transmission system. The aggregate length of Gazprom’s gas trunklines is over 170,000 kilometers at the moment. It is the longest gas transmission system in the world. According to highly qualified experts, Russia’s Unified Gas Supply System is exceptionally robust. It allows us to synchronize gas production, transmission, storage and distribution in real time.

Gazprom also has the biggest gas storage capacities in the world. By the 2017–2018 heating season, the Company injected a record amount of gas into its facilities – 72.2 billion cubic meters. It was twice as much as in 1993.

It should be noted that in the last seven years starting from 2010, Gazprom has increased the daily deliverability of its UGS facilities by 30 per cent. By the current heating season, we reached an all-time high for daily deliverability at the start of the withdrawal period with 805.3 million cubic meters.

Our main socially-oriented initiative is without a doubt the Gasification Program. Mr. President, we launched the Program in mid-2005 as per your order. Since then, we have built upward of 30,000 kilometers of gas pipelines and brought gas to more than 4,000 population centers. As of January 1, 2018, the average gas penetration level in Russia was 68.1 per cent.

In line with your instructions, the Gasification Program prioritizes rural areas. By now, the gas grid in rural areas has grown 1.7-fold. The gas penetration level in those territories was at 58.7 per cent as of January 1. Of course, this level is higher than the national average of 2005.

Today, Gazprom provides reliable gas supplies to consumers not only in Russia, but also in Belarus, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan.

Last year, the Company set an absolute record for gas exports with 194.4 billion cubic meters. Our market share in Europe is at an all-time high with 34.7 per cent. Since 1993, Gazprom’s exports have grown 1.9-fold. Please note that the largest increase in gas exports took place in the last three years, when exports skyrocketed by more than 30 per cent. Gazprom’s exports went up by 47 billion cubic meters compared to 2014.

Due to the rising demand for Russian pipeline gas in the foreign markets, we are implementing new export-oriented projects – TurkStream and Nord Stream 2.

Mr. President, pursuant to your instruction, Gazprom is implementing the Eastern Gas Program to supply gas to consumers in Russia’s Far East and Eastern Siberia and to create export infrastructure so as to deliver our gas to Asian markets. To that end, we are developing the Sakhalin gas production center, pre-developing the Chayandinskoye and Kovyktinskoye fields, and building the Power of Siberia gas pipeline. To date, we have built over 1,520 kilometers of the pipeline, which constitutes two-thirds of the linear part stretching from Chayandinskoye to the Russian-Chinese border. On December 20 next year, we will start supplying pipeline gas to the world’s most dynamic gas market, China.

As part of the Eastern Gas Program, Gazprom is building the Amur Gas Processing Plant, which will have the capacity of 42 billion cubic meters of gas. It will be the largest such plant in Russia and second largest in the world.

Mr. President, you said businesses should be socially responsible, so we followed your lead and launched the Gazprom for Children program.

Vladimir Putin: In what year did you start?

Alexey Miller: In 2007.

Over the years, we have built and renovated more than 1,600 facilities in 73 Russian regions, as well as constructed 120 sports and health centers. Currently, more than 100,000 people visit those sports facilities.

There is a good tradition in our country: celebrating milestones with new labor achievements and with new facilities being put onstream. In the run-up to Gazprom’s anniversary, we are commissioning large sports centers in four regions of the Russian Federation: the Khabarovsk Territory and the Kursk, Voronezh and Bryansk Regions.

We have Komsomolsk-on-Amur on the line.

Vladimir Putin: Go ahead.

Vadim Navoyenko: Mr. President, Mr. Miller.

Vadim Navoyenko, Deputy Director General for Capital Construction at Gazprom Investgazifikatsiya, reporting from Komsomolsk-on-Amur.

Here, we have completed the construction of a state-of-the-art sports and health center as part of the Gazprom for Children program. The center has a spacious gym for team sports, a 25-meter swimming pool, and special-purpose gyms for athletic and health classes. It covers a total of 6,500 square meters and accommodates over 200 people at a time.

The center is located in one of the most densely populated areas of the city – the Privokzalny District. There was hardly any sports infrastructure there before, and now thousands of children have the opportunity to engage in physical training and sports in their own neighborhood.

Alexey Miller: We are going live to Kursk now.

Anatoly Erkulov: Good afternoon, Mr. President, Mr. Miller.

Anatoly Erkulov, Deputy Director General for Capital Construction and Investments at Gazprom Mezhregiongaz, speaking live from Kursk.

The Kursk Region traditionally has been a strong center for horse breeding and equestrian sports in Russia. There used to be a children’s equestrian school by the racetrack on Magistralnaya Street, which was very popular with local children. This is why we have built a modern facility for a new equestrian school in that place as part of the Gazprom for Children program.

The facility consists of an indoor riding arena, a stable for 100 horses, storage houses for fodder and hay, and auxiliary premises. The size of the facility is impressive: it sprawls across 9 hectares and has a total area of 75,000 square meters. There is an outdoor field of 50 meters by 80 meters, as well as training grounds covering 13,000 square meters.

The new infrastructure is suitable for both training and competitions in various equestrian sports. Right now, you see coach Yulia Zhilina training children from the Kursk Region. Our facility will soon host hurdle racing competitions as part of the Victory Cup devoted to Hero of the Soviet Union Boris Sugerov.

As you can see, all necessary conditions have been created in the Kursk Region to help the school’s riders and their horses shine in Russian and international arenas.

Alexey Miller: We are speaking with the settlement of Kantemirovka, Voronezh Region.

Alexey Bazhanov: Good afternoon, Mr. President, Mr. Miller.

This is Alexey Bazhanov, Director General of Gazprom Investgazifikatsiya, reporting.

We are in the settlement of Kantemirovka, Voronezh Region. The Kantemirovsky District is one of the farthest from the capital city. It is located in the south of the Voronezh Region. The distance from here to Voronezh is 279 kilometers. The Kantemirovsky District is home to 35,000 people, including 3,000 children aged between 6 and 18. Previously, there were no adequate conditions for all-around fitness and sports activities.

The sports and recreation center we are opening today was built under the Gazprom for Children program. It has two swimming pools: a 25-meter pool for adults and a 10-meter pool for children, along with a universal gym. The total area of the center is 3,000 square meters. As many as 63 people can exercise here at the same time. It is a much-needed sports facility that will be of great benefit to the locals, especially children.

Alexey Miller: We are being joined by the settlement of Suzemka, Bryansk Region.

Vladimir Priymak: Hello, Mr. President, Mr. Miller.

This is Vladimir Priymak, Director General of Gazprom’s Fund for Supporting Social Initiatives, reporting from the settlement of Suzemka.

Winter ice sports, including figure skating and hockey, have become very popular in the Bryansk Region. We already have several children’s hockey teams in the Suzemsky District, which is home to some 15,000 people. Until recently, children could only practice at open-air rinks at their schools in winter. The nearest indoor rink is located 40 kilometers away in Trubchevsk.

However, thanks to the Gazprom for Children program, young hockey players can now practice all year round in a new modern center built in their home region.

Our center occupies 3,500 square meters and contains a full-sized 60 meters by 30 meters hockey rink. There is also a gym with the necessary auxiliary facilities. It can accommodate 120 visitors. We hope that our center will help local children unleash their athletic potential to the fullest.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you. Mr. Priymak, what is the construction cost of this facility?

Vladimir Priymak: The total cost is around RUB 430 million.

Vladimir Putin: And how long did it take you to build it?

Vladimir Priymak: Two years, Mr. President.

Vladimir Putin: That is quick. Thank you.

I would like to speak to my colleagues in the regions, Mr. Navoyenko, Mr. Erkulov, Mr. Bazhanov and Mr. Priymak. Please accept my gratitude and convey my best regards to everyone involved in building those facilities.

Thank you very much.

Remark: Thank you, Mr. President.

Vladimir Putin: The program that you have talked about and the results of which we have now partly observed is of great importance to Russian regions. Gazprom is a network company operating across the entire country, in almost every constituent entity of the Russian Federation. And I know that you did this not just because of my request, but also because the Company and the Company’s management support children’s sports consistently and systematically. Please keep up the good work.

Alexey Miller: We will.

Vladimir Putin: I congratulate you and the entire team of Gazprom on your 25th anniversary. I hope that Gazprom will remain as effective as it has been to this day.

Alexey Miller: Thank you, Mr. President.

 

 

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