OREANDA-NEWS. August 30, 2007.  Irkutsk has hosted a joint coordinating meeting of Gazprom and the Irkutsk Oblast Administration working groups for the regional gas supply and gasification. The meeting was moderated by Bogdan Budzulyak, Head of the Gas Transportation, Underground Storage and Utilization Department and Yury Paranichev, Acting Governor of the Irkutsk Oblast.

The participants examined the progress with the Action Plan for the Irkutsk Oblast gas supply and gasification approved by Gazprom and the regional authorities.

The parties also examined the progress with the provision of the Government of the Russian Federation on socioeconomic development of the Irkutsk Oblast as of May 10, 2007.

The meeting also discussed the Schedule Plan for the synchronization of activities to execute the regional gasification program over 2007 to 2008. Particularly, the meeting discussed the gasification of the Bratsk industrial hub, which is a top-priority gasification facility.

The parties examined the development prospects for associated gas generating capacities in the Ust-Kutsko-Kirensky complex in the northern Irkutsk Oblast.

The parties pointed to the active work done to identify opportunities for Irkutskenergo’s power generation facilities to convert to natural gas.

The participants underscored that purposeful work had been done on the execution of the General Scheme for gas supply to and gasification of the Irkutsk Oblast. The parties expressed a common opinion that the implementation of the General Scheme was an important direction of Gazprom and the Irkutsk Oblast work aimed at executing the major provisions of the Concept for the regional socioeconomic development approved by the Government of the Russian Federation at the meeting of May 10, 2007.

Special attention was paid to the commissioning of top priority gas supply facilities and preparation of consumers for gas supply.

As a result of the meeting the parties adjusted the Schedule Plan on synchronization for 2007. The Mayor of the Bratsk area was tasked with speeding up preparations for gasification of the settlement of Zyaba.