Gazprom board approves 2022 investment program expansion to record 1.98 trln rubles

MOSCOW. Oct 18 (Interfax) - The Gazprom board of directors approved a 13% increase in the investment program of the holding's parent company, PJSC Gazprom , to 1.980 trillion rubles in 2022, the Russian gas giant said in a statement.

Gazprom traditionally revises its investment program and budget after the first half of the year.

The approved figure is another record in the company's history. The previous all-time high investment program after revision was in 2018, when the figure was 1.496 trillion rubles.

Under the new version of the program, overall investment will increase by 222.061 billion rubles from the plan initially approved in December 2021, to 1.98 trillion rubles. This will include 1.746 trillion rubles of capital expenditures, up by 319.12 billion rubles; 109.564 billion rubles of spending on acquisition of non-current assets, up by 32.539 billion rubles; and 123.835 billion rubles of long-term financial investments, down by 129.598 billion rubles.

Under the new budget, financial borrowing (not including intra-group borrowing) will increase by 113.2 billion rubles to 386 billion rubles. The approved financial plan will ensure coverage of PJSC Gazprom's obligations without a deficit, in full, the company said.

"The revision of the parameters of the investment program for 2022 is related primarily to an increase in the amount of investment in the development of gas production centers on the Yamal Peninsula and in Eastern Russia (the Yakutia and Irkutsk centers) and the development of the capacity of the Power of Siberia gas pipeline," the company said.