On Friday, Itera officially opened a new gas field, Beregovoye, in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Gazprom spoiled the solemnity of the moment for Itera. The monopoly has not yet given Itera permission to allow gas into the main pipeline.

According to the company itself, Itera is developing seven fields with total reserves of over 1.17 trillion cubic meters of gas. In 2003, these fields will produce a total of about 30 billion cubic meters of gas. The company owns controlling stakes in Sibneftegaz, Pur-Land, Achimneftegaz, as well as 41.9% of Tarkosaleneftegaz and 26.77% of Khancheineftegaz. The reserves of the Beregovoye field are 324.211 billion cubic meters of gas, 0.991 million tons of condensate and 9.035 million tons of oil. Since 2005, the field is planned to produce 11 billion cubic meters of gas per year, with plans for 2003 at 2.4 billion cubic meters. The field is being developed by Sibneftegaz. Investments in development are estimated at $360 million.

Gazprom has not been kind to Itera in the last two years. The company had to sell its shares in the main gas production enterprises, Purgaz and Sevneftegazprom, to the monopolist. In addition, Gazprom took away Itera's functions as a supplier of Turkmen gas to Ukraine.

Itera is trying to increase gas production in Russia by buying small fields. As Itera press secretary Yevgeny Ostapov told Vedomosti, the company intends to open the Pyreynoye field in Western Siberia next after Beregovoye, with planned production of 2 billion cubic meters of gas per year.

However, for now, gas supplies from the Beregovoye field have been postponed indefinitely. According to Ostapov, Gazprom has still not satisfied Itera's application for access to the main gas pipeline. The reasons for this delay are unclear to Itera. "Gas from the Beregovoye field was taken into account by Gazprom when compiling the balance of gas entering the main pipeline for 2003," Ostapov notes.

A month ago, Gazprom proposed that independent gas producers join forces in reconstructing the unified gas transportation system (GTS). According to the monopoly, the depreciation of the GTS's fixed assets is about 56%. Meanwhile, the system's capacity utilization will grow in the coming years, and by 2006 there will not be enough space in the pipeline for everyone.

On Friday, Itera Chairman of the Board Valery Otchertsov spoke about how his company can participate in the reconstruction of the GTS. According to him, the company has made a written offer to Gazprom to help repair the GTS. The amount of this assistance, according to Itera's plan, will be proportional to the share of its gas in the monopoly's pipeline.

Gazprom explains the delay in satisfying Itera's application solely by technical reasons. "All applications for access to the main gas pipeline are simply carefully processed," the company's press service told Vedomosti. A Gazprom representative told Vedomosti that as of May 1, 30 independent gas producers had received access to the pipeline to pump a total of 68.5 billion cubic meters.

"Formally, Gazprom provides free access to gas transportation capacities, but it has enough other reasons to block independent producers' access to the pipeline, especially in the busiest areas," says a representative of the Union of Independent Gas Producers. According to him, sometimes Mezhregiongaz buys gas at low prices from those companies for whom access to the pipeline is closed.

"Itera" is not allowed to go down the drain