OREANDA-NEWS. According to the Information Division of Gazprom, on September 14, Uraltransgaz base (Yekaterinburg) hosted a meeting on issues related to the fulfillment of the Targeted Comprehensive Program for the Development of Natural Gas Vehicles and Fueling Stations from 2007 through 2015.The meeting was moderated by Bogdan Budzulyak, Member of the Gazprom Management Committee, Head of the Gas Transportation, Underground Storage and Utilization Department. The meeting was attended by heads and specialists of the core business units of Gazprom and its subsidiaries, representatives of the Sverdlovsk Oblast Administration and National Gas Vehicle Association.

The participants underscored that the expansion of natural gas utilization for motor transport is a Gazprom’s important business direction within business diversification enabling to sell product at higher value added cost.The Targeted Comprehensive Program for the Development of Natural Gas Vehicles and Fueling Stations from 2007 to 2015 fulfillment will have the significant social and economic effect.

Additionally, the Program will stimulate efficient national project execution in the health service sector due to fuel cost decrease. The Program will positively influence Gazprom activities for the Russia’s regional gasification embracing the comprehensive gas utilization and branch pipeline loading increase. The meeting expressed common opinion that switching of motor transport to natural gas can become an activity performed within the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics preparation.

The meeting pointed out that the Ural region has a leading position in utilizing natural gas as motor fuel. In 2006 the region’s share for the all-Russia gas engine fuel marketing is at nearly 17.5 per cent. Gazprom, the Russian Railroads and the Sverdlovsk oblast's administration organized the operation of LNG and CNG locomotives at the test site of Sverdlovsk railroad.

In the framework of the Gazprom intra-corporate management structure enhancement, the participants discussed the set up of a specialized enterprise Gazprom Avtogaz for CNG production and marketing, which will include affiliated branches of Gazprom subsidiaries.The core business units of the Company and subsidiaries were tasked to increase the Program execution efficiency.

In 2007, Gazprom approved of the Targeted Comprehensive Program for the Development of Natural Gas Vehicles and Fueling Stations from 2007 through 2015, which stipulates the construction of 200 fueling stations in Russia by Gazprom.