The managing director of Gazprom International Valery Gulev, participating in events as part of  the visit of OJSC Gazprom Chairman of the Board  Alexey Miller, to Kyrgyzstan on 9 – 10 April, met with the minister of energy and industry of the Kyrgyz Republic Osmonbek Artykbaev.

During the meeting it was stated that the parties have decided to develop concrete measures and deadlines for the implementation of a Specific Phased Programme for the Geological Study of the Subsoil in Gazprom’s licensed areas in the republic, Kugart and East Maylisu-IV.

During the negotiation process, the training of qualified personnel for the oil and gas industry of Kyrgyzstan was also discussed as the requirement today is extremely high. As a result the parties agreed that Gazprom International will assist in organising the training of Kyrgyz students at the respective specialised universities in Russia.

The topic of reconstruction and upgrading the existing underground gas storage facilities, which are necessary for the sustainable operation of the gas industry in Kyrgyzstan, was discussed separately.

Following the meeting a protocol was signed which recorded the outcome of the negotiations.

REFERENCE

In 2003 OJSC Gazprom and the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic signed an agreement on cooperation in the gas industry for a period of 25 years. In particular, it provides for the development of hydrocarbon fields in Kyrgyzstan, the reconstruction, building and commissioning of gas pipelines and other facilities of the country's gas infrastructure, and for the transportation and supply of gas for joint projects.

Gazprom appointed its 100-percent-owned subsidiary company  in the implementation of foreign projects Gazprom International as the operator of the joint gas projects in Kyrgyzstan.

In 2007 the parties signed an Agreement on the General Principles for the Geological Study of Subsoil in the Kyrgyz Republic. A technical and economic assessment as well as a step-by-step programme for geological exploration work was developed in the same year. The prospective oil and gas areas of Kugart and East Maylisu-IV, located in the south-west of the country, for which Gazprom received licences in 2008, were identified as priority projects for geological exploration work.

On 10 April 2014 the Chairman of the Board of OJSC Gazprom Alexey Miller and the CEO of OJSC Kyrgyzgaz Turgunbek Kulmurzaev signed a contract for the sale and purchase of a 100-percent stake in the share capital of KyrgyzgazProm LLC, a subsidiary of Kyrgyzgas, which is the exclusive importer of natural gas to Kyrgyzstan and the owner of the republic’s gas transportation and distribution systems. After completion of the transaction for Gazprom’s acquisition of KyrgyzgazProm LLC, this company will be renamed Gazprom Kyrgyzstan LLC.

The legal basis for signing the contract for the sale and purchase of KyrgyzgazProm LLC was the Intergovernmental Agreement on Cooperation in the transportation, distribution and sale of natural gas on the territory of Kyrgyzstan of 2013.