OREANDA-NEWS. Dmitry Kobylkin, Governor of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Region, and Gazprom Neft Deputy CEO for Corporate Communications Alexander Dybal have officially opened two sports complexes built by the company in the cities of Noyabrsk and Muravlenko.

A branch of the local ice-hockey club Avangard junior academy will be based at the new Noyabrsk ice palace, which will also hold lessons in figure skating. Most of the facility’s 6,000 square-metre total area will be occupied by a Kontinental Hockey League (KHL)-standard ice rink, equipped with stands for 400 (with comfortable temperature control), a commentary box, as well as facilities for fitness training and choreography, and classroom tuition.

The 7,500-square-metre Muravlenko sports complex will be a modern multi-functional space for training and matches for water sports, martial arts and gymnastics. The ground floor of the complex has a multi-use sports hall with stands for 352 people, training gyms and classrooms. The first floor has a six-lane swimming pool with stands for 100, as well as facilities for pre-conditioning and general training, and aerobics. The complex is equipped with sound and lighting facilities for public events and live TV transmission.

Both complexes are fully adapted for use by the disabled.

Gazprom Neft Deputy CEO for Corporate Communications Alexander Dybal commented: “Gazprom Neft is committed to improving quality of life in those regions in which the group’s key enterprises are located. In building the Noyabrsk ice palace and the Muravlenko sports complex we are helping develop modern sporting infrastructure, appropriate to the northern climate and conditions. The Muravlenko complex now allows training and matches for all popular team games and water sports and — something of the utmost importance — offers excellent facilities for fans. Training children at a branch of the Avangard school marks, for the first time, the establishment of genuinely professional facilities in Noyabrsk, offering year-round hockey training through a children’s youth academy. Hundreds of boys will now have the chance to receive hockey training and, in the long term, pursue a career in this sport. I am confident that, together with the Avangard hockey club, local government leaders will be able to invite qualified children’s trainers to Noyabrsk, allowing this branch of the academy to go into full-time operation in the near future.”

Governor of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Region Dmitry Kobilkin commented: “Gazprom Neft continues to develop infrastructure projects in Yamal, which remains a major area for the company in terms of production. By the way, we have a large number of Gazprom Neft employees living here — meaning that they, and their families, are also Yamal locals. It is for precisely this reason that, five years ago, we embarked on a comprehensive joint programme to develop modern sports infrastructure here. And today marks the opening, in one go, of two modern sports complexes in Noyabrsk and Muravlenko — both excellent New Year presents for the people of Yamal and marking the region’s 85th anniversary. As Gazprom Neft marks its 20th, these events provide the best possible testament to the company’s generosity.” Dmitry Kobylkin also commented that the Arctic region and the company “have a common understanding of corporate social responsibility, evidenced by the development of good living conditions for local residents — the harsh conditions of the Russian Far North notwithstanding.” “Consistent with an agreement recently signed between Gazprom Neft and ourselves, between 2016 and 2020 we will be building two further branches of the Avangard hockey academy (in Labytnangi and Muravlenko), as well as the Salekhard Arena multi-functional sports complex, a swimming pool in the Purovsk district, and a sports and fitness centre in Noyabrsk. This is what we call genuine cooperation, to the benefit of Yamal and its people.”

The Gazprom Neft “Home Towns” project brings together the company’s various CSR initiatives and projects throughout those regions in which the company has a presence. Directed at improving living standards in these regions, the programme includes initiatives for neighbourhood enhancement, and for the development of children’s and public sports facilities, as well as programmes in education, health, and in preserving and supporting the culture of the indigenous populations of the Russian Far North.