Gazprom`s investment to in 2009 to exceed three previous years.

BUENOS AIRES, October 7 (Itar-Tass) - Russia's major producer and
exporter of natural gas OAO Gazprom expects that its investment in the
'crisis-stricken' year 2009 will surpass the averaged annual figures for
the past three years, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said Tuesday.
He said it while addressing the plenary session of the 24th World Gas
Conference, underway in Buenos Aires.
Gazrpom's investment precisely meets the need for guaranteeing its
long-term obligations, Miller said.
"For instance, our investment program for this year stands at 761.5
billion rubles or about 25.5 billion U.S. dollars," Miller went on. "This
means we'll invest more monies during this crisis-stricken year than we
did on the average in the past three years" that have elapsed since the
previous World Gas Conference.
"The customers that have signed long-term agreements have nothing to
worry about whether or not there'll be enough investment to guarantee the
supplies of natural gas during the next economic cycle," Miller said.
Gazprom is investing in the projects significant from the angle of
view of energy security, he said adding that, apart from the upstream
production facilities and the operational pipeline system, this implies
the construction of new export corridors, like the Nord Stream and South
Stream pipeline projects.
"Gazprom will make a sizable contribution to raising the reliability
of global supplies of gas as it develops new gas provinces on the
territory of Russia - on the Yamal Peninsula, on the continental shelf of
Arctic Seas, in Eastern Siberia and the Far East," Miller said.