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Participants in the videoconference included Head of Crimea Sergei Aksyonov and Acting Governor of Sevastopol Dmitry Ovsyannikov.

Chernomorneftegaz Director General Igor Shabanov and dispatcher Sergei Krulikovsky reported that the system is ready for launch.

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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues. Can you see and hear us well?

Chernomorneftegaz Director General Igor Shabanov: Very well.

Vladimir Putin: My congratulations to you and everybody who is there at the site which I hope will be symbolic for a long time – that is, symbolic for all the aspects of energy supply to Crimea. Congratulations to Crimean residents, construction workers and everybody who has been involved in such a momentous and essential project for the entire country and the Crimean Peninsula.

This is another significant step in the long-term development of Crimea. Supply of the Russian gas to the peninsula via the main pipeline will create a completely different environment for the whole economy sector, recreational industry and social sphere in Crimea and Sevastopol.

As you know, we have already laid one power bridge this year, and the peninsula is being supplied with 800 megawatts of power. Today’s event is another very significant and momentous step in the development of the Crimean Peninsula. In the very near future, in 2017–2018, two power plants will be built with a capacity of 470 MW each, using the gas delivered to Crimea, and they will cover all the current needs, with a surplus, and will set up a potential for developing the economy and the social sphere in Crimea and Sevastopol.

In the coming four years, 70 kilometres of main gas pipelines with 2,500 connecting pipelines between the townships will be built and reconstructed, along with eight gas transmission stations. It is important – and it’s good that both Crimea’s and Sevastopol leaders are here in the Kremlin now – it is important that the regional authorities and local councils should arrange timely and coordinated work on branching the gas systems, so that natural gas could reach the end consumer, households, our citizens residing in Crimea and Sevastopol.

I would like to express special gratitude to the engineers and builders: to the engineers, as this was indeed a challenging engineering task, and to the workers, because they did everything on time and with good quality. By the way, this is the same construction company that is also building the Crimean bridge. I consider this the first step in the implementation of a whole range of tasks facing the builders.

Congratulations again on this event!

Please.

Director General of Chernomorneftegaz Igor Shabanov: Igor Shabanov, Chernomorneftegaz director general.

We are at the pig launcher site. This is one of the facilities of the main gas pipeline from the Krasnodar Territory to Crimea being commissioned today.

Sixteen kilometres of this pipeline lie on the bottom of the Black Sea, and another 341 kilometres run through Crimea from Kerch to Sevastopol. Its capacity amounts to 2.1 billion cubic metres, and if needed, the amount of transported gas can be increased to 4 billion. This will suffice to cover all the needs in Crimea.

Behind me there is a power plant under construction near Simferopol, one more power plant is being built in Sevastopol. After commissioning, these power plants will completely meet Crimea’s electricity needs and will make it independent from the neighbouring state.

Mr President, we have the gas pipeline’s central control room in Simferopol on the line. Good afternoon.

Sergei Krulikovsky: Good afternoon. This is controller Sergei Krulikovsky. All the systems of the pipeline are ready for operation.

Mr Shabanov, I am delivering gas to the main gas pipeline of the Crimean peninsula.

Igor Shabanov: Mr President, I ask you to authorise the launch of the pipeline’s pilot flare.

Vladimir Putin: Go ahead, please.

Igor Shabanov: The gas has been delivered to the territory of the Republic of Crimea. Crimea has been joined with the unified gas supply system of Russia. Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Mr Shabanov, colleagues, friends,

Let me congratulate you again. I expect the work will not be finished today. As I have already said, the regional authorities and we will do everything necessary to ensure that the gas reaches the end consumer as soon as possible. You know about the plans for branching on the southern coast of Crimea, however, this is just the first step. Everything should be done according to the plan, on schedule and with high quality.

Thank you very much.

Happy New Year.

Igor Shabanov: Thank you.