Gas workers may merge Perm assets

Gazprom has launched the process of consolidating its assets in the Kama region. The gas transportation company Gazprom Gazoraspredelenie Perm (formerly Uralgazservice) comes under the control of the sales concern Mezhregiongaz. It is expected that the next step will be the creation of a single top management for Gazprom's subsidiaries.

As Kommersant learned, an extraordinary meeting of shareholders of Gazprom Gas Distribution Perm (GGP) is scheduled for November 7. This information was confirmed to Kommersant by Dmitry Borodulin, a member of the company’s board of directors, Minister of Construction and Housing and Communal Services of the region. The agenda includes the re-election of the board of directors of the gas distribution company. According to Kommersant's information, following the results of the meeting, almost the entire corporate governance body of the company will be formed by representatives of Gazprom Mezhregiongaz LLC; one seat will be retained by a representative of the regional government, which owns 12% of the company. Currently, Mezhregiongaz representatives occupy only three of the seven seats on the GGP council. They share a council with the management of St. Petersburg OJSC Gazprom Gazoraspredeleniye, which still owns almost 79% of GGP shares.

• Gazprom Gas Distribution Perm (until 2012 - Uralgazservice, before privatization - Permoblgaz) - the largest gas distribution company in the Kama region, operates almost 100% of gas networks in the region, with the exception of main gas pipelines. According to SPARK-Interfax, revenue in 2013 was 2.8 billion rubles, net profit was 608 million rubles. Back in 2006, Gazprom bought the Perm gas distribution company from structures close to businessmen Andrei Agishev and Mikhail Matveev. And he gave it to the management of the Gazprom Gas Distribution company.

The sale of Gazprom gas in the Perm region is carried out by Gazprom Mezhregiongaz Perm LLC (GMP, until 2011 - Permregiongaz LLC), a subsidiary of Gazprom Mezhregiongaz. Revenue in 2013 was 23 billion rubles, net profit was 41 million rubles. The gas workers' partner in the Perm company is also the regional authorities; they have a blocking stake in GMP.

The merger of Gazprom's two Perm subsidiaries began to be discussed immediately after Uralgazservice came under the control of the monopoly. However, no real steps were taken. Operational management of Uralgazservice immediately passed to Gazprom Gazoraspredeleniye OJSC, whose representatives almost completely formed the board of directors. The situation changed at the end of May 2014, when at a meeting of shareholders, the shareholders of Gazprom Gas Distribution gave it to Mezhregiongaz for management. Now the capital company is establishing control over the Perm company. According to Kommersant's information, the process will not stop with the change of the board of the Perm company - in 2015, the two companies may have one top manager. The GGP is now headed by Nikolai Blagov, and the GMP by Evgeniy Mikheev.

Maria Frolova, head of the public relations department of Gazprom Mezhregiongaz LLC, did not comment on the company’s plans: “We promptly inform about all decisions made on the appointment of general directors in press releases; we never comment on our plans for appointments.” The interlocutor at GMP claims that the decision to merge the two Perm companies has not been made, and the interlocutor at GMP believes that if it comes to a merger, it will be only after all merger processes in the parent organizations are completed.

Former general director of Permregiongaz Igor Shubin says that the practice of merging sales and distribution companies developed at Gazprom ten years ago. According to his information, merger processes took place in 80% of Gazprom's gas distribution companies. “This story is not new. Previously, this was impossible for us, since Uralgazservice did not belong to Gazprom. Now I don't see any problems. All this is done in order to optimize costs and management,” the expert believes.

Vyacheslav Sukhanov

Gas is authorized to declare