OREANDA-NEWS. June 02, 2011.  The Gazprom Board of Directors considered the issues of promoting the use of natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as a motor fuel in the public transport sector and in large Russian cities.

 The Management Committee was tasked to make the appropriate efforts in cooperation with the state authorities.
Background

 The Russian fleet of natural gas vehicles amounts to some 86 thousand units (over 13 million units worldwide). At present, there are 249 CNG filling stations (206 of them are owned by Gazprom) in 58 regions of the Russian Federation. 345 million cubic meters of compressed natural gas were sold by Russian CNG filling stations in 2010.

 One of the measures stimulating gas utilization as a motor fuel in Russia is the Government Directive on Urgent Measures Expanding Substitution of Motor Fuels with Natural Gas dated January 15, 1993. The Directive sets the maximum CNG price at the level of 50 per cent of the A-76 gasoline price.

 In 2007 Gazprom approved the Targeted Comprehensive Program for the CNG Filling Network and NGV Fleet Development over 2007 to 2015 stipulating construction of 200 CNG filling stations.

 Gazprom signed the Agreements of Cooperation with the Kaluga, Orel, and Tambov Oblasts to use gas as a motor fuel. The Tomsk, Kostroma and Volgograd Oblasts endorsed the regional laws aimed at development of their local CNG markets.