OREANDA-NEWS. St. Petersburg hosted today a working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee and Aarne Saar, Chairman of the Eesti Gaas Supervisory Board.

The parties addressed the bilateral cooperation issues, placing an emphasis on Russian natural gas supplies to Estonia in the medium term.

Besides, the meeting considered the Third Energy Package provisions in regard to Eesti Gaas and the impact of this legislative package on the Estonian energy market.

Eesti Gaas deals with gas purchase, transmission and distribution in Estonia until January 2014. The company's ownership structure is split among Gazprom (37.03 per cent), Fortum Heat and Gas OY (51.38 per cent), Itera Latvija (10.02 per cent) and other shareholders.

In pursuance of the Estonian Law on Natural Gas, Eesti Gaas span off a gas grid operator in January 2014 – EG Vorguteenus, with the full shareholding acquired by Vorguteenus Valdus. Gazprom obtained a 37.03 per cent stake in Vorguteenus Valdus and retained 37.03 per cent in Eesti Gaas.

Nowadays Eesti Gaas owns the gas distribution system of Estonia and is engaged in the downstream business of the gas industry.

EG Vorguteenus owns and operates the gas transmission system of the Estonian Republic.

Russian natural gas is supplied to Estonia under long-term contracts effective through to 2015. Gazprom supplied Estonia with 0.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2013.