Equal-access rules for Gazprom gas-transport system could come soon - Artemyev
NOVO-OGAREVO. March 25 (Interfax) - Rules governing equal access to OJSC Gazprom's gas-transportation system may be forthcoming in the near future, as the relevant document is now undergoing inter-departmental coordination, head of Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) Igor Artemyev told the press.
Asked when a draft resolution on those rules might be considered, Artemyev said, "In two or three weeks there will be key meetings at the White House [Russia's house of government] and final decisions will be made on a report by the prime minister. The prime minister, as you know, ordered its preparation and submission for confirmation. That means these rules should appear in the nearest future," he said.
This past February Prime Minister Vladimir Putin instructed Gazprom to work out means for equal access to its gas-transport system for all independent producers.
Putin said at a meeting devoted to how the country's fuel and energy industry did last year that this is necessary for securing long-term contracts with gas-suppliers for power-industry facilities put into capacity agreements.
In the context of their mandatory investment programs, power companies will invest significant money in construction and should be confident about receiving the volume of gas they need, which could be effected with long-term deals, the prime minister said.