Official website of the President of Russia

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President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: Dear friends, of course I am very pleased to be attending this ceremony today, because although these sorts of ceremonies all resemble each other, the main thing behind it is all the efforts involved in the construction of this gas turbine plant which really was built very quickly. This means that significant preparations were made in the runup to the actual construction. As Mr Bogdanchikov [President of Rosneft oil company] has rightly said: with the aid of such plants – and this one really is unique – we can resolve many problems.

Today we will be continuing our discussions on energy efficiency. This power plant is a unique example of this, at least in our country, because it’s the largest power plant that runs on associated gas, with an aggregate capacity of 315 megawatts. The first stage, which is now up and running, is capable of producing 135 MW, and stages two and three will be completed by the year end.

Of course, the associated gas usage is a problem which cannot be resolved by building one plant like this or even a number of them, but it is a step in the right direction.

I would like to thank everyone who participated in its construction, all the employees and staff at Rosneft who have joined forces and, in a remarkably short time, have created something fundamentally new for our country, a facility that will really enable us to face one of the most difficult challenges confronting us, the challenge of improving the energy efficiency of our economy. This is a difficult task, but it is doable, and it will affect not only the future of our national energy sector but the development of our country’s economy in general.

Once again, I would like to sincerely thank everyone for all their hard work and congratulate them on this momentous occasion.