Gazprom could spend 31-35 bln rubles on gasification of in 2012
ROSTOV-ON-DON. Oct 21 (Interfax) - Gazprom could earmark 31-35 billion rubles to the gasification of the Russian regions in 2012, deputy chairman of Gazprom's managing board Valery Golubev said at a meeting on gasification of the Rostov region on Friday.
"Each year, we allocate [funds] for the gasification of the regions. This year it was 29 billion rubles. Next year that figure could be 31-35 billion rubles. And 1 billion rubles goes to the Rostov region. That is quite a large share in relation to all the 60 regions in which we conduct work," he said.
In 2012-2013, the 1 billion rubles allocated by Gazprom will serve to increase the level of gasification in the Rostov region to 80% from the current 79.3%, Golubev said.
"This [Gazprom investment] will step up the level of gasification in the Rostov region to 80%, which is approaching the ideal level. It is not advisable to bring gas pipelines to the most remote customers, but rather to provide them with liquefied natural gas. This will be quite a worthy and optimal technical decision," he said.
At the same time, he pointed out that there is no need for 100% gasification of the regions, since the capacity of distribution networks is insufficient. While today's optimal level is 60%, the average capacity level of distribution networks throughout the country is around 26%, while in the Rostov region it is a little over 17%, Golubev said.
"We only use half of our capacity to deliver gas to our consumers. On the one hand, that is good: we have the possibility of increasing the volume of supply to those regions where gas already flows, to connect new consumers. But for Gazprom that is bad, because our investment is problematic from the point of view of payback," he said.