Gov't to discuss Gazprom reforms in December

The Russian government will consider Gazprom reforms at its meeting on December 9, 2004, Kirill Androsov, the director of the tariff regulations department of the Economy Ministry, told RBC. Earlier, Russian Deputy Economy Minister Andrey Sharonov said that this issue would be discussed in November.

Reforms of the gas sector envisage structural changes in Gazprom. One of them is creation of gas transportation companies that will be 100 percent subsidiaries of Gazprom. This will allow for the calculation of adequate tariffs on gas transportation and make this activity a more transparent business. Another important direction is the development of underground gas storage facilities as a separate business.