OREANDA-NEWS. September 28, 2009. The announcement by GAZEKS (Gas Export; an entity of Victor Vekselberg’s KES-Holding) of its starting making natural gas-supply agreements with enterprises of the Sverdlovsk Region put consumers in the Middle Urals in discomfort. Let’s recall that CJSC Uralsevergaz (Urals North Gas is a joint venture of ITERA and the Government of the Sverdlovsk Region) ensures continues natural gas supply to all consumers, including those of industry and housing and utilities, reported the press-centre of ITERA.

For this reason, URA.Ru, the Russian Information Agency, asked ITERA Oil and Gas Company to comment on the situation. Vladimir Makeyev, Chairman of the Management Board of ITERA Oil and Gas LLC, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Uralsevergaz, replied our Agency questions.

"The emergence of new players in the gas market of the Sverdlovsk Region may change the economic situation in the Region a cardinal way. We cannot stop this process. Though in case the new "fellow applicants" pursue an objective of making agreements with profitable, the most solvent consumers, and leave all problem-prone enterprises, social infrastructure and housing and utilities to ITERA, this is going to be unacceptable for us. We are emphatically against destruction of the stable system of natural gas supply to the Sverdlovsk Region under a plausible excuse of a need to introduce competition in the gas market and a possibility of supplying gas at more attractive prices. The problem needs an integrated solution. All suppliers of gas should be in equal conditions and bear their parts of social burden. Otherwise, economic affairs will be disrupted in the Region", - Vladimir Makeyev pointed out.

Vladimir Makeyev replied negatively to the question of whether the entrance of a new player to the market of the Sverdlovsk Region has ever been discussed with ITERA? "This situation has never been discussed with us. I would like to point out that ITERA, aside from natural gas supply, carries a substantial social burden. It is an active participant in installation of gas service, construction of modern heat production facilities, implementation of advanced energy saving technology and equipment in the Region. It is involved in multifaceted charitable activities and sponsorship", - he noted.

According to Vladimir Makeyev, Chairman of ITERA Management Board, the Company has sufficient resources to ensure continued supply of the required volume of natural gas to the Middle Urals. "I would like to remind that the Company never broke logistic back of gas supply to the Sverdlovsk Region in eleven years it has been operating there in that capacity", - he stressed.

Uralsevergaz had supplied 18.4 bcm of natural gas to the Sverdlovsk Region in 2008.