International cooperation

GAZPROM VNIIGAZ participates in the work of the following international organizations:

International Gas Union (IGU)
Committee on Sustainable Energy of UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).

IGU is an international nongovernmental non-profit organization with the primary goal to provide informational and political support for world production, supply, use of natural gas and operations at gas market.

The International Gas Union (IGU) was founded in 1931. The program of IGU’s activities is divided in three-year periods, each culminating in the World Gas Conference. The next 23rd World Gas Conference will be held in Amsterdam (Netherlands) in June 2006.

More than 70 countries are the members of IGU, including all gas producing and consuming countries. Besides national gas societies and associations, starting from 2003, IGU may include big oil-and-gas companies. However, only one representative of each country has the right of deciding vote in the IGU Council. The other representatives are observers.

IGU structure:
Superior body is IGU Council, which is authorized to take decisions on admission/dismissal of IGU members, strategic activity lines, IGU’s structure, place and time of holding the subsequent World Gas Conference.

IGU President is the representative of the country holding the subsequent World Gas Conference. He coordinates the IGU activity in the three-year period between the World Gas Conferences.

IGU Vice President is the representative of the country holding the next after subsequent World Gas Conference. He assists and, if necessary, substitutes IGU president.

IGU Secretariat (IGU Secretary General) is the IGU standing body, framing the decisions of the Council and IGU President and coordinating activities of different IGU structures in compliance with the UGU Charter and decisions of the Council and IGU President.

IGU Executive Committee, including President, Vice President, Secretary General, Coordination Committee Chairman and Leaders of task groups (on especially important subjects) with the major task – to implement decisions of Council and IGU President based on the requirements of Charter and Working Programs of Working and Program Committees.

IGU Coordination Committee, including Chairmen of IGU Working and Program Committees, whose major task is drawing up the UGU triennial work program and coordination of various Committees when implementing this program.

IGU Working Committees develop the World Gas Conference program for corresponding activity fields and prepare reports on the most important subjects for gas industry development.

Working Committee 1 (Exploration and Production of Gas)
Working Committee 2 (Gas Storage)
Working Committee 3 (Transmission of Gas)
Working Committee 4(Distribution of Gas)
Working Committee 5 (Utilization of Gas)

IGU Program Committees develop the World Gas Conference program of the current triennial most acute problems and is responsible for organization of panel discussions with special reports to be prepared.

Programme Committee A (Sustainable Development)
Programme Committee B (Strategy, Economics and Regulation)
Programme Committee C (Developing Gas Markets)
Programme Committee D (Liquefied Natural Gas)

GAZPROM VNIIGAZ traditionally participates in the work of IGU structures since the 1970s of the 20-th century. GAZPROM VNIIGAZ’s specialists represented Russia in the Committees such as Exploration and Production (WOC 1), UGS (WOC 2), Transmission (WOC 3), LNG (PGC D), Distribution and Utilization of Gas (WOCs 4 and 5), Strategy, Economics (PGC B). In the current of three-year period, GAZPROM VNIIGAZ’s specialists are working in WOC 1, WOC 2, WOC 3 and PGC D. During the next three years, the representative of GAZPROM VNIIGAZ will be at the head of WOC 1 (Exploration and Production of Gas).

The GAZPROM VNIIGAZ delegation took part in the 16th session of the Working group on Gas of Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The session took place on 24-25 September 2005 in Geneva (Switzerland).

80 gas companies’ officials from 30 European, Asian, African and American countries, experts from EU, International Gas Union, European Association on gas use in transport and others participated in the session.

The main issues discussed were:

Economic reforms in the CEE countries and the reforms’ influence on the gas and gas industry markets in UNECE region;
Interim results of the “Gas centre” program, implemented in countries with transition economy;
the international organizations’ activity in gas field;
Discussion of the Working group’s program for 2006-2009.

The GAZPROM VNIIGAZ delegation leader R.O. Samsonov has presented the reports on:

The elections of the Working group Commission were held in the end of the session. The “Ukrtransgas” foreign economy director I. Ponomarenko became the Commission Chairman.

We are open to mutually beneficial cooperation with the companies, which would like to have a reliable, professional and competent partner, represented by GAZPROM VNIIGAZ, having a good reputation both in Russia and abroad.