All news

Gazprom considers dividing unified gas supply system unacceptable

MOSCOW, February 28. /TASS/. Gazprom considers the idea of dividing a unified system of gas supply unacceptable, because it secures supplies in times of peak gas consumption, according to Member of Gazprom Management Committee Oleg Aksyutin.

"Dividing unified system of gas supply is unacceptable - ensuring a reliable gas supply, including in times of peak gas consumption in autumn and winter, is a valid argument," Aksyutin said.

According to Aksyutin, Gazprom implementing all activities ranging from production to supply to final consumers ensures safe and stable operation of, while "ideas of radically reforming the Russian gas industry are mainly focused to dividing Gazprom, liberalizing gas exports and pushing the company out from certain regions of the domestic market."

Earlier, Head of the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) Igor Artemyev told reporters that the pilot project on gas market liberalization in Russia's regions should be further discussed to protect the public interests.

Shale fever 

Gazprom has consciously decided not to participate in the "shale fever" that had swept the world in recent years:

"We have consciously decided not to participate in the global oil shale fever. In our opinion, this was the right decision," Aksyutin said, noting that "Gazprom group has its own technologies for extracting unconventional hydrocarbons."

According to Aksyutin, foreign investment in shale assets have not yielded positive results. He added, "Shale activity of the United States was associated with the unique conditions."

"Therefore, Gazprom has not invested in exploration of shale gas, particularly in Europe, which to date are known not to bring positive results," he concluded.