The Gazprom Board of Directors reviewed the information on the measures undertaken to inventory ownerless gas facilities in Russian regions, as well as to optimize the procedure of their transfer to specialized organizations for further operation in line with the laws of the Russian Federation.
It was noted that operation of ownerless gas distribution facilities (gas networks that have no lawful owners and are lacking proper technical maintenance and condition monitoring) remains a highly relevant issue for Russian regions.
The gas distribution companies of the Gazprom Group are consistently working to inventory gas distribution networks within the areas of their responsibility. Information about detected ownerless property is submitted to local authorities for registration and subsequent transfer into municipal ownership. If local governments fail to act appropriately, the relevant information is then forwarded to prosecution offices.
In addition, Gazprom actively cooperates with the federal authorities with the aim of improving the existing legislation concerning the ownership registration procedure for ownerless networks.
For instance, the Company proposed to streamline the procedure for registration of ownerless networks in municipal ownership by, inter alia, reducing the registration timeframes from one year to three months, with a possibility of automatic accrual of ownership rights by municipal authorities with respect to these facilities after the expiration of this period. In addition, increased attention should be paid to the issue of proper operation of ownerless networks, as well as their routine and emergency maintenance, prior to the registration of ownership rights.
The Management Committee was tasked with continued implementation of the measures for inventorying ownerless gas facilities and enhancing the procedure of their handover to specialized organizations for further operation in line with the laws of the Russian Federation.
Background
Proper operation and timely technical maintenance of gas networks is the responsibility of their lawful owner. Technical works at the facilities of this kind are to be performed by specialized organizations in order to ensure reliability and safety.
