The Gazprom Management Committee addressed the operating results of the Company’s subsidiaries over the 2014–2015 autumn/winter period (from October to March) as well as the measures to be taken for uninterrupted gas supply to consumers in the 2015–2016 autumn/winter period.

In the past autumn/winter period Gazprom Group secured reliable gas supplies to consumers in the Russian Federation as well as gas exports. During the cold snap period all the necessary measures were taken for maintaining uninterrupted gas supply to the domestic consumers, and special attention was paid to gas supplies to socially significant facilities, public utility consumers and population. Natural gas was exported beyond Russia in compliance with the contracts.

With a view to secure reliable gas supply to consumers in Russia and abroad, Gazprom takes comprehensive efforts for developing production and gas transmission capacities, intensely retrofits and expands gas storage facilities, carries out scheduled preventive maintenance and repair work at the facilities of the Unified Gas Supply System (UGSS) of Russia to the full extent.

It allows gradually building up the capacity of the underground gas storage (UGS) system in Russia by each successive withdrawal season. During the last five autumn/winter periods the maximum daily deliverability by the start of the withdrawal season has grown by 24.5 per cent and reached 770.4 million cubic meters. By the 2015–2016 autumn/winter period this figure is expected to increase by another 2.5 per cent and reach 789.9 million cubic meters. With the account of UGS facilities in Belarus and Armenia, by the next winter the maximum daily deliverability of UGS facilities at the beginning of the withdrawal season will come to 832.9 million cubic meters of gas.

In order to ensure reliable operation of the UGSS in the 2015–2016 autumn/winter period the Management Committee tasked the specialized structural units and subsidiaries with the following assignments:

• stockpile at least 72.018 billion cubic meters of operating gas reserves in Russian underground gas storage (UGS) facilities, 1.07 billion cubic meters in Belarusian UGS facilities and 0.121 billion cubic meters in Armenian UGS facilities;
• implement the Basic Guidelines on securing Gazprom’s subsidiary facilities readiness for the 2015–2016 autumn/winter period;
• perform scheduled preventive maintenance and repair work at gas production, transmission, underground storage and processing facilities; prepare transportation vehicles and specialized equipment for winter operation.