19 march 2011

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin attends the opening ceremony of the Dalneye gas distribution station during a working visit to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

Vladimir Putin

At the opening ceremony of the Dalneye gas distribution station during a working visit to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

Participants:
“We will continue to implement our plans for the development of the Far East. We will build new residential neighbourhoods, new seaports, new airports, roads, lay pipe systems, build new industrial clusters and educational centres, and this means that the Far East will have a wonderful future.”

The Dalaneye gas distribution station near Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is to supply the city's combined heat and power station. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said in his speech at the ceremony that launching the station will not only increase the amount of electricity generated but will also reduce the burden on the environment. Until now the station has been operating on coal.

After the opening ceremony, Mr Putin signed the station's gas pipe with the inscription “Gas for Sakhalin!” He also viewed Gazprom's presentation of projects for East Siberia and the Far East.

Gazprom Deputy CEO Alexander Ananenkov said that the launch of the heat and power station is a top priority for the gasification of Sakhalin. The station’s annual consumption is estimated at 650 million cubic metres of gas. It is planned that the consumption of gas in the Sakhalin region will triple by 2015 and reach 1.5 billion cubic metres per year.

Vladimir Putin's speech at the opening ceremony of the Dalneye gas distribution station

Good evening, friends. This is a pleasant and momentous evening. I congratulate you on this occasion!

In recent years, Sakhalin has become a significant energy hub, not only for Russia but for the entire Asia-Pacific region. Billions of cubic metres of gas – in 2010, it was 24 billion – and millions of tonnes of oil – almost 15 million in 2010 – are extracted here each year.

Today is a special occasion because we are embarking on a new stage of our work in Sakhalin, and the important thing about this stage is that our citizens, the people of Sakhalin are its greatest priority. The implementation of this project connects one of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk's main energy facilities, Combined Heat and Power Station No. 1, with one of Sakhalin's main gas fields via the gas pipeline system. This means that gradually, but rapidly enough, in the next year or two, almost all CHP-1 units in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk will be replaced with new generation technology using gas instead of coal. And this is a momentous occasion for the city, I mean in terms of the environmental impact on the city that a power station running on coal creates. And above all, this shows concern about people's health.

In addition, the gas that has come here will enable CHP-1 to double its output in the coming years. This means additional capacity for the development of new manufacturing facilities, heat and electricity in homes and new residential areas.

We will continue to implement our plans for the development of the Far East. We will build new residential neighbourhoods, new seaports, new airports, roads, lay pipe systems, build new industrial clusters and educational centres, and this means that the Far East will have a wonderful future.

I congratulate all of you on today's event and thank the workers, engineers and managers at all levels for your hard work and for today's result. Thank you very much and congratulations.