OREANDA-NEWS. February 8, 2008. Astrakhan hosted a meeting dedicated to the Astrakhan Oblast upstream oil and gas industry development and gasification.

The meeting was co-chaired by Valery Golubev, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee and Alexander Zhilkin, Governor of the Astrakhan Oblast. Present at the meeting were heads and specialists of Gazprom core business units and subsidiaries, representatives of the Astrakhan Oblast legislative and executive branch, local municipal authorities and business entities.

The meeting addressed the prospects for the upstream oil and gas industry development and new processing capacity construction in the Astrakhan Oblast as well as the status of implementation of a gasification program for the region. In particular, the participants touched upon issues associated with gasification of the northern Astrakhan Oblast as well as 2008-2009 gasification plans for the region.

The development of gas transmissions systems, further regional gasification, construction of a gas-steam CHP plant for Gazprom dobycha Astrakhan and a polyethylene manufacturing complex as well as taking of environmental actions were named, inter alia, as the top priorities of cooperation between Gazprom and the Astrakhan Oblast.

“The Astrakhan Oblast occupies a special place in Gazprom’s business. Our cooperation is of a long-term and strategic nature. One of the Company and Russia’s largest gas processing plants is located here. We are confidently looking into the future, which, amongst other things, will see the construction of polyethylene and electricity production capacities in the Astrakhan Oblast. This will enable to turn out competitive and marketable products, create additional jobs and significantly replenish local budgets with tax revenues,” said Valery Golubev.

The meeting resulted in the taking of decisions providing for the elaboration of a comprehensive purpose-oriented program embracing the upstream oil and gas industry development in the Astrakhan Oblast and further gasification of the region.