Gazprom's directors to examine slashed investment program.

MOSCOW, September 30 (Itar-Tass) -- Board of Directors of the Russian
gas producer and exporter, OAO Gapzprom, meets in session Wednesday to
examine the corporation's reduced investment program for 2009, the stragy
for operations amid the falling consumption of natural gas abroad, and
participation in gas and power engineering projects in North America.
The agenda of the meeting suggests that the directors will also
consider "an all-round development of gas processing and gas-chemical
facilities in East Siberia and the Far East."
Earlier, Gazprom's board of governors endorsed changes in the
investment program and budget, which envisions a curtailment of investment
by 159 billion rubles to 761.53 billion rubles /USD 1=RUB 30.0/.
With account of the current market situation, reductions have embraced
investment in upstream production and gas processing/storage failities,
and the program for reconstruction and technology upgrading of gas
transportion facilities for the period of 2007 through 2010.
In addition to this, forecasts for a falling demand for gas have
prompted a postponed commissioning of the Bovanenkovo gas deposit in the
Yamal Peninsula, now moved to 2010, and of the Bovanenkovo-Ukhta gas
pipelines, rescheduled for the third quarter of 2012.
Along with this, the changes endorsed by the governors envision an
increase of investment in the main priority projects, including the
Gryazovets-Vyborg and Pochinki-Gryazovets pipelines.
Also, Gazprom will build up investment in the
Sakhalin-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok and Dzhugba-Lazarevskoye-Sochi pipeline
projects, as well as in the installation of gas distribution services in
the Kamchatka territory.
The long-term capital investment plan suggests Gazprom will take part
in the development of the Shtokmanovsky and Prirazlomny Arctic gas
deposits, in the construction of the Nord Stream maritime pipeline on the
territories of foreign countries, and in the Sakhalin-2 project.
The governors have factored priority strategic projects abroad into
the program, too.
According to the new version of the draft budget, financial borrowings
are to grow by 214.9 billion rubles to 304.9 billion rubles.
Gazprom directors will consider the corporation's strategy in a
situation where the biggest European consumers of Russian gas do not use
up the amounts of gas specified by purchase agreements.
For instance, West European countries reduced the purchases of Russian
gas by 29% on the whole from January through June. Germany stands out
among other countries with a 44% reduction.
Ukraine also reduces the purchases of gas -- it will buy only 33
billion cubic meters /bcm/ this year versus the contractual target of 39
bcm.
However, following a decision by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Russia
will not fine Ukraine for infringement on the terms of the purchase
contract.
Gazprom now faces the taks of revising the principles and structure of
gas exports and deciding on the possible issuance of penalties for
under-consumption of gas.
As for the North American projects, Gazprom has already referred to
that part of the globe as a 'target market' for supplies of liquefied
natural gas there.
Gazprom executives hope to export sizable amounts of LNG there from
two projects -- Sakhalin-2 and the Shtokmanovsky deposit. The company has
the ambitions for occupying from 5% to 10% of the U.S. market of LNG by
2020.
"Treading the power generation segment of the North American market
will make it possible to raise the efficiency of natural gas sales and to
diversify the market risks," Gazprom said earlier.

.High-rank US, Cuban diplomats have first meeting over many years.

NEW YORK, September 30 (Itar-Tass) - U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary
of State Bisa Williams has held undeclared talks with Cuban government
officials in Havana, sources at the Department of State told the
Associated Press on Tuesday.
One of the Cuban officials she met with was Deputy Foreign Minister
Dagoberto Rodriguez, the sources said without going into details.
Williams is reported to have made a six-days-long trip to Cuba earlier
this month.
The AP indicated that the State Department spokesman Ian Kelly
confirmed Tuesday that Williams remained in Cuba after previously
announced talks on restoring mail service between the U.S. and Cuba.
According to the news agency, other officials gave details of the trip
but spoke only on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized
to discuss it.
Kelly said along with this that Williams's contacts with Cuban
interlocutors had been purely technical ones.

.US Secretary of State to visit Moscow in mid-October.

NEW YORK, September 30 (Itar-Tass) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton is expected to visit Moscow in mid-October for taking part in the
first session of the Russia-U.S. Bilateral Presidential Commission for
Cooperation, Ian Kelly, an official spokesman for the Department of State
said here Tuesday.
He recalled that the commission is supposed to have working groups,
each of them covering a particular area of cooperation.
Kelly named atomic energy and nuclear security, arms control and
maintenance of international security, fighting with terrorism,
counteraction to narcotic drugs production and trafficking, business and
trade relations, energy, environment, healthcare, science and technology,
education, cultural exchanges, and civic society among the areas the
activity of the working groups will cover.
Under an agreement that Presidents Dmitry Medvedev of Russia and
Barack Obama of the U.S. reached at the summit in Moscow in July, the
commission has two coordinators -- Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
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