In the course of the next 5-6 years, the level of gasification in the Republic of Karelia will increase from today´s seven percent to 80 percent, Gazprom leader Aleksei Miller said yesterday.
In a meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev and head of the republic Andrei Nelidov, Miller confirmed that Karelia now becomes a top priority in the company´s national gasification program, the president´s press service informs.
The gasification will not only be developed with gas pipelines, but also in the form of LNG, a press release from Gazprom reveals.
With its current level of seven percent, the republic is one of the Russian regions with the lowest level of gasification. The new energy source is expected to significantly reduce the region´s heating costs and also help attract new industry.
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Like several of its neighboring regions, Karelia is today heavily dependent on heavy oil (mazut) as heating material. Also Murmansk Oblast has a very low level of gasification. There, gasification is planned developed in line with the development of offshore gas fields in the Barents Sea.
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The announcement from Aleksei Miller comes only two weeks ahead of the State Duma elections. For regional leader Andrei Nelidov, who is struggling with low approval ratings in the regional population, the gasification issue is a highly welcoming contribution in his election campaign. Karelia is also among the Russian regions with the lowest level of support for the United Russia party, several polls indicate.
Read also: United Russia turns up the heat in Murmansk
Gazprom leader Aleksei Miller himself gives Governor Nelidov the main credit for the breakthrough in the gasification issue, saying that Nelidov´s predecessor Sergei Katanandov did not devote sufficient focus on the cooperation with Gazprom.
