OREANDA-NEWS. April 29, 2008. The business trip of the Gazprom delegation headed by Alexander Ananenkov, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee to the ship building and machine building companies of Russia’s Northwest region has come to an end.

Alexander Ananenkov conducted today in St. Petersburg a meeting dedicated to the potential of Russian ship building and machine building companies in constructing vessels and special equipment to carry out Gazprom’s high-priority projects on the Arctic shelf.

Taking part in the meeting were heads and experts of the Gazprom core business units, Sevmorneftegaz, Gazflot, Gazpromenergodiagnostika, Giprospetsgaz, Rosshelf, Morneftegazproekt, Podvodgazengineering, Gaztechleasing, CDS NefteGazAeroCosmos, United Shipbuilding Corporation, United Industrial Corporation, Shipbuilding plant Severnaya Verf, Baltiysky Zavod, Vyborg Shipbuilding Plant, Krylov Shipbuilding Research Institute, Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, FSUE CRIST, Severnoye Design Bureau, Central Marine Design Bureau ALMAZ.

The participants discussed the current status and development prospects for the Arctic shelf hydrocarbon development by Gazprom. The meeting emphasized the crucial importance of creating a new oil and gas production region in the Arctic shelf as a precondition for the long-term production build-up after 2010.

A special attention was paid to the compliance with engineering and construction schedules as part of the orders already placed with Russian ship building companies by Gazprom. In particular, offshore drilling rigs for high-priority offshore projects, such as the Shtokman and Prirazlomnoye fields development, for arranging exploration works in the Yamal offshore areas and the Ob and Taz Bays were discussed.

Representatives of ship building and project engineering companies of the Northwest region presented at the meeting reports on the capability of the Russian ship building industry in constructing offshore equipment and vessels required by Gazprom for the shelf development.

The meeting also considered the improvement of the existing regulatory framework in relation to engineering and construction of offshore equipment and vessels.

Summarizing the meeting outcomes Alexander Ananenkov highlighted the need to introduce advanced domestic sci-tech developments and utilize more widely the potential gained by leading Russian industrial, scientific and defense companies for the comprehensive development of the Arctic offshore hydrocarbon reserves.

“Native companies possess a considerable potential for the creation of technological fleet, production and drilling platforms for Gazprom. At the same time, there is equipment they haven’t produced yet. Therefore, it is necessary to adopt experience, develop Russian technologies and attract qualified staff.

Gazprom will continue to interact with Russian companies in the production of modern, reliable, high-tech, and competitive equipment to implement our high-priority offshore projects,” underscored Alexander Ananenkov.

In the frames of the trip the Gazprom delegation also visited today Shipbuilding plant Severnaya Verf (in the city of St. Petersburg) and considered the ability of the company to construct offshore drilling platforms, supply vessels as well as LNG transportation vessels for the Arctic shelf development.

In addition, the delegation visited Nevsky Zavod and learned the ability of the company to produce gas pumping units with a capacity of 32 MW.