Russia Expo Shared Plans on Gasification of Russian Regions

The plenary session ‘Russia’s Fuel and Energy Complex: New Opportunities for Development’ was held at Russia Expo on Energy Day. Its participants spoke about gas supply and gasification of Russian regions and discussed development of the fuel and energy complex.

The level of gasification in the country has now reached 78%, shared Alexander Novak, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia. The power industry in the country is on the rise and continues to develop. More than 2,000 oil fields and about 180 gas fields are being developed in Russia, and new fields are being discovered all the time. More than 250 thousand kilometres of oil and gas trunk pipelines have been built to ensure a high level of exports. More than a thousand power plants and 4 million kilometres of power transmission lines are operating in Russia, said the Deputy Prime Minister. The industry provides more than 30% of the gross domestic product and more than 50% of budget revenues.

“Thanks to the personal involvement and attention of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, our energy sector has made a tremendous leap in its qualitative development over the past 20 years. Today, the Russian energy sector is one of the most powerful in the world, and we are proud of it,” said Alexander Novak.

Russia has become the fourth largest producer of liquefied natural gas in the world and plans to take 20% of the global market, said the Deputy Prime Minister. At the same time, renewable energy sources have been developing over the last 10 years. To date, 87% of electricity generated in Russia belongs to clean sources. Only the highest fifth class fuel is used in the country.

Alexander Novak said that the industry employs more than 3 million professionals.

“Of course, energy development is not only the work of our enterprises. The most important thing is the work of people on the ground. The professional team that works and thanks to which our energy sector develops. We have a huge historical foundation and huge plans. Our energy sector is firmly on its feet, it will develop and move forward,” concluded Alexander Novak.

More than 10 million households have received gas in the 80 years since the beginning of domestic use, while 1.15 million houses have received it in the two years since the start of the presidential gasification programme, shared Sergey Gustov, Director General of Gazprom Mezhregiongaz. According to him, this primarily affected rural areas and remote sites.

“Previously, Gazprom only built high-side’ gas pipelines – to the settlement. The gas pipeline within the settlement was the responsibility of the region, while the consumer paid for the so-called ‘last mile’ gas pipeline – to the land plot. Now, Gazprom is carrying out and paying for this work in full,” emphasized Sergey Gustov.

Currently, 1.1 million relevant contracts have been signed. 1.154 million households have been technically connected, and almost 500 thousand houses have been connected to gas, said Gazprom Mezhregiongaz General Director.

“I am sure that the task set by the President – to complete gasification of the country by 2030 – will be fulfilled,” summarized Sergey Gustov.

Other sectors of the fuel and energy industry were also discussed during the plenary session. In particular, Russia is the leader of the global nuclear market, noted Alexey Likhachev, Director General of Rosatom State Corporation. Russia ranks first in uranium enrichment and is one of the leaders in uranium reserves and production.

“Of course, we are the absolute leaders in exporting nuclear technologies. As of today, 25 projects are being implemented under the NPP Export scheme, including 22 ours. The launch of the facilities was one of the brightest moments in the life of these countries,” said Alexey Likhachev.

As for the oil industry, it remains one of the key sectors of the Russian economy, said Alexander Dyukov, Chairman of the Management Board and CEO of Gazprom Neft.

“Last year Russia produced more than 530 million tonnes of oil. And if we load it into railway tank cars, we will get a train that will circle the globe around the equator over two and a half times,” Alexander Dyukov said.

The Energy Day is organized by the Government of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation, and Directorate of the Russia Exhibition of Achievements. It is operated by the Roscongress Foundation.