OREANDA-NEWS. December 1, 2011. The Gazprom headquarters hosted today a working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Company's Management Committee and Anatoly Artamonov, Governor of the Kaluga Oblast.

The meeting reviewed implementation of the Cooperation Agreement. It was noted that between 2006 and 2010 Gazprom's capital investments in the region amounted to RUB 3.7 billion.

This year's capital investments account for RUB 2.2 billion. With the use of these funds the work is underway to reconstruct the Kaluga underground gas storage (UGS) facility, to relocate the Kaluga gas distribution station (GDS) outside the Kaluga city as well as to retrofit the Vorobyi GDS, the Vorotynsk automated GDS as well as a gas lateral and an automated GDS in the Medyn town.

Alexey Miller and Anatoly Artamonov considered the possibility for Gazprom to reconstruct the Balabanovo GDS and a gas lateral connected to it. The Company will make a decision on reconstruction of these facilities after the amounts of gas to be pumped through them in the nearest future are specified.
A focus was also placed on the Kaluga Oblast gasification. It was noted that Gazprom was currently constructing eight inter-settlement gas pipelines in the region.

The parties agreed on building a multi-purpose health and fitness center in the town of Sukhinichi.
Background

The Cooperation Agreement between Gazprom and the Kaluga Oblast Government was signed in 2001 for an indefinite period. In furtherance of the Agreement the parties entered into the Gasification Accord in 2002 and into the Agreement on a wider utilization of natural gas as a motor fuel in 2010.

From 2002 to 2010 Gazprom invested RUB 3.1 billion in the Kaluga Oblast gasification. During this period of the bilateral cooperation between the Company and the Kaluga Oblast Government the regional gasification level increased to 78.8 per cent (by 15.9 per cent) including to 87.8 per cent (by 9.9 per cent) in cities and towns and to 52.2 per cent (by 26.8 per cent) in the rural area. The identical figures throughout Russia average 63.1, 69.8 and 46.7 per cent respectively. In 2011 Gazprom is allocating RUB 287 million for the Kaluga Oblast gasification.