President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Colleagues, good afternoon.
Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller: Good afternoon, Mr President.
Vladimir Putin: Hello.
Not too cold, Mr Miller?
Alexei Miller: No, everything is fine.
Vladimir Putin: Is it cold where you are? What is the temperature?
Alexei Miller: About minus 5 degrees Celsius, but the wind is blowing from the gulf.
Vladimir Putin: I see.
Today, we are marking the 30th anniversary of Gazprom, a world-famous Russian company. It is one of Russia’s largest and most advanced corporations, as well as a global leader in terms of natural gas reserves, output, and supplies.
I am glad to convey to you my best wishes on this anniversary and congratulate all Gazprom staff members, who are almost half a million-strong (over 490,000): workers, engineers, geologists, drillers, construction workers, and people representing dozens of other crafts and trades. They are all top professionals, and the whole country is proud of you.
Of course, today we must send our warmest greetings and best wishes to the Russian gas industry veterans. They were the ones who laid the foundations and started developing vast and unique deposits, built entire cities and towns, and laid energy supply routes of international significance.
Gazprom was incorporated as an independent company in the early 1990s, which was a difficult period for the country, and the decision to preserve it as a single and integrated whole turned out to be strategically correct. Gazprom began to grow and has been a trailblazer for other industries and entire regions with their social infrastructure ever since, promoting Russia's economic revival and growth.
Today, Gazprom remains a responsible, efficient and sustainable business. Despite the frankly unfair competition and direct attempts to halt and curb its development from the outside, Gazprom is moving forward and launching new projects, including by carrying out geological prospecting surveys, producing gas and ensuring its advanced processing, as well as taking part in building the Northern Latitudinal Railway and other transport infrastructure facilities.
I must also note that Gazprom creates orders for Russian high-tech businesses, including SMEs and young researchers’ teams.
Of course, Gazprom has a solid track record of paying special attention to carrying out major social and humanitarian projects by supporting cultural, educational and environmental programmes, building housing and schools, helping equip hospitals and improve and develop streets, embankments and parks.
For example, over 2,000 sports centres, sports grounds and school stadiums have been built across Russia as part of the Gazprom for Children programme, which I believe was launched around 2007 (Mr Miller will correct me if I am wrong).
Gazprom is investing substantial funds in the comprehensive development of our cities, rural areas and regions, and it is doing the right thing. I would like to thank its management, shareholders and all workers for that.
It is notable that Gazprom’s perspective plans always look ahead and are designed for years and even decades to come, clearly, because of the long implementation cycle of your projects, which fully meets our national interests, and the goals and priorities of Russia as a major power and a sovereign centre of the multipolar world.
Gazprom's specific goals and new projects are based on detailed expert analysis and projected changes and trends in global markets. According to those forecasts and opinions, natural gas will remain an extremely valuable natural resource, a true asset it has been for years, and the demand for it will only grow.
Over the past 30 years, global natural gas consumption has almost doubled; in the next 20 years, according to expert estimates, it will add at least another 20 percent, and maybe more. In the so-called transition period, the demand will be enormous. Moreover, the Asia-Pacific region will account for more than half of projected growth, primarily the People’s Republic of China, given the high pace of its economic growth.
In this context, the further development of the huge gas industry network created in the east of our country is becoming strategically important for Russia. This network includes the Yakutia and Irkutsk gas production centres, the Amur Gas Processing Plant, which is under construction, and the Power of Siberia gas pipeline, which was connected to new reserves with the launch of the Kovykta gas condensate field into commercial operation last December.
Overall, as far as international cooperation and export contracts are concerned, Gazprom is facing monumental challenges, having to rearrange its logistics routes and gain a foothold in new markets. Yesterday alone, I think Mr Miller and I spent about two hours discussing all these plans with our potential partners.
Let me emphasise that no matter how important international trade is, what matters the most to us is promoting our national development, providing for reliable, steady economic growth, shielding the national economy from any threats, and ensuring uninterrupted supplies for our enterprises and regions. Of course, this also includes improving the quality of life for people across all regions of Russia.
I believe the expanded programme of social gasification, when connection to gas distribution networks is brought right up to the land plot boundary, is one of the most important projects for Gazprom in terms of its social responsibility. Starting this year, the programme has no expiration date. In addition, it now covers social infrastructure, educational and medical institutions, as well as housing.
Let me remind you that certain categories of people can benefit from additional support. This includes families with many children and combat veterans. I am referring to subsidies people can obtain when buying services and gas equipment for their homes. We have already allocated federal funding to this effect, and I am asking you to always keep a close eye on these efforts.
We planned several link-ups for this event with Gazprom sites across the country, from the Baltic Sea to Russia’s Far East.
But before that, I would like to once again congratulate Gazprom workers on the company’s anniversary and thank you for your great work for the benefit of our people and our vast country and wish you every success in your undertakings.
I will now pass the floor to Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller.
Mr Miller, go ahead, please.
Alexei Miller: Mr President,
We are in the Lakhta Centre in St Petersburg.
Gazprom headquarters is located in the Lakhta Centre, from which we manage the unified gas supply system in Russia, from Petropavlovsk in Kamchatka to Kaliningrad, across all time zones.
During the autumn and winter seasons, when it is especially, intensely cold, Gazprom reliably and stably provides gas to its customers in the power sector, in industry and to the people, of course.
Gazprom is implementing unique projects, which constitute the backbone of Russia’s gas sector in the 21st century.
Today, Gazprom is a leader in the global energy market and the largest company in the country ensuring comprehensive power supply in Central Russia and providing not only gas but also electricity and heating to our customers.
We have unrivalled expertise in working in the Arctic, unique competencies, experience and knowledge. Gazprom has created a new gas production centre on the Yamal Peninsula. We are developing new large hydrocarbon fields. I can tell you, with good reason, that Russia is doing more in the Arctic than anyone else. We have no rivals in the Arctic.
We are also working successfully in the East. Mr President, you recently launched the Kovykta gas condensate field and the second phase of the Power of Siberia gas pipeline into commercial operation. The pipeline is now operational throughout its entire length, which is about 3,000 kilometres.
The Kovykta and Chayanda fields, the largest in Eastern Siberia, are multi-component fields, which is why we are building the Amur Gas Processing Plant to supply products to the gas chemical industry.
Gazprom is developing main transport in all regions of the country. At present, we are preparing to build the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline, the Soyuz Vostok gas trunkline via Mongolia, the Far Eastern gas pipeline and, of course, a link to connect our gas transport network in the European part of Russia to the gas transport systems we have created under the Eastern Gas Programme.
The main pipeline transport is the backbone of the further development of the gas supply and connection system. Providing gas supply in rural areas means, first of all, higher quality of life there, while higher rate of gas infrastructure development in the regions creates new opportunities for agriculture and industry.
We can assure our customers that there is enough gas in Russia for decades to come. This conviction is based on the world’s largest resource portfolio.
The flagship of production is the Yamal gas production centre and its heart is the Bovanenkovskoye field. We will give the floor to Bovanenkovo.
General Director of Gazprom Dobycha Nadym Dmitry Shchegolev: Mr President, Mr Miller,
I am at the Bovanenkovo oil and gas condensate deposit on the Yamal Peninsula.
We began extraction here in 2012. Since then, we have put three gas fields into service and have reached design capacity. Now we can produce over 100 billion cubic metres of gas a year. We are increasing the number of gas production wells every year and now 595 out of 770 project wells are operating.
Simultaneously, with the upgrades at Bovanenkovo, we are preparing to launch the operations at the Kharasaveyskoye deposit, which is a little over 100 kilometres to the northwest of here.
Today, 100 natural gas wells out of the 167 project wells have been drilled. Construction is underway on a gas treatment plant, a booster compressor station and the Kharasavey-Borovenkovo connecting gas pipeline.
We are planning to start industrial gas production at Kharasavey in 2024, which will add another 32 billion cubic metres of gas annually to Gazprom’s balance sheet.
Today, about 3,000 Gazprom employees are working at Borovenkovo. Another thousand will work in shifts at the Kharasaveyskoye deposit. Climate conditions are severe, but we try to make up for this by creating good living conditions for our employees. They have a modern shift complex, gyms, cafeterias, a swimming pool and a concert hall.
Gazprom’s 30th anniversary is an important event for our team. Working at Gazprom is an honourable and responsible profession. We are confident that the company has a great and glorious future.
Alexei Miller: Mr President,
Gas from Bovanenkovo is sent to the Vyborg area where Gazprom has built a gas liquefication plant. We are developing our own competences in liquefication technology and gaining our own experience. I am giving the floor to the team at Gazprom SPG Portovaya.
General Director of Gazprom SPG Portovaya Anton Stukov: We are at the LNG production, storage and shipping facility. The company is located on the northeast coast of the Gulf of Finland.
Our plant can produce 1.5 million tonnes of LNG per year. The complex was launched in September last year. By now it has already produced over half a million tonnes of LNG.
The plant is connected to Russia’s unified gas distribution system. The gas is first processed at the plant and is then sent to the liquefication station. Two shops with Ladoga gas turbines compress the refrigerant. The temperature of LNG is about minus 160C. It is used by the public transport system in St Petersburg. We use a floating depot – the Portovy tank vessel – which can tranship LNG to gas-carrier vessels.
Our main goal here is to ensure independent and autonomous natural gas supply to Kaliningrad. Mr President, you set this goal for us, and it has been successfully carried out.
Colleagues, each of us wants to work with maximum dedication and full responsibility. Like thousands of Gazprom employees, we are doing all we can to ensure national energy security.
Alexei Miller: Mr President,
An unparalleled natural gas complex, which includes production, transport and processing facilities, has been created in Eastern Siberia. These facilities are connected by an unmatched and the world’s most modern, gas pipeline, the Power of Siberia. With that, I turn it over to Gazprom Transgaz Tomsk company.
Director General of Gazprom Transgaz Tomsk Vladislav Borodin: We are at the Atamanskaya compressor station of the Power of Siberia gas pipeline. I have workers, engineers and executives here who are making sure the gas pipeline operates reliably.
The Power of Siberia has been under construction since 2014 in these extreme natural and climatic conditions. The pipes were laid through mountainous and seismic zones, permafrost and rocky soils.
Today, the Power of Siberia offers new opportunities for gas infrastructure development in eastern Russia for decades ahead. Natural gas is now being supplied to boiler houses and production facilities, including the Vostochny Cosmodrome.
We plan to ramp up the gas pipeline’s export capacity as well. To do so, second shops at seven compressor stations will be put into operation. They have been named after the trailblazers who came to Siberia in the 17th century. The capacity of the eighth station, Atamanskaya CU where we are now, will have almost doubled by the end of this year from 128 to 224 megawatts.
Our company is working for the good of the country, and our success is the success of every Russian citizen. Together, we are a powerful force. We are the Power of Siberia, the power of Gazprom, and the power of Russia.
Alexei Miller: Mr President,
Eastern Siberia has multicomponent gas, which is why Gazprom is building gas processing facilities in this region in order to supply processed products to other high-tech industries.
I turn the floor over to the Amur Gas Processing Plant.