Gasification of Andrei Tarkovsky's Homeland – On-the-Spot Video Review

Stroytransgaz supplies gas to the birthplace of Andrei Tarkovsky, the area that served as a source of inspiration for many famous artists – the city of Yuryevets in the Ivanovo Region. Currently, 12,000 people live in the district. The facility is at the final stage of construction, its readiness is 85%. Construction is carried out as part of Gazprom's large-scale program ‘Gasification of Russian Regions’, which is being implemented in 68 regions.

“The Yuryevets district holds a special place among the municipalities of the region. Yuryevets is the oldest city in the region, with a special unique creative microclimate. I am sure that the gasification of the region will drive its economic development”, Sergey Vladimirovich Mazalov, CEO of Gazprom Gas Distribution Ivanovo JSC, says highlighting the importance of the project.

The gas pipeline, 46.5 km in length, was laid along the right bank of the Gorky Reservoir. Welding, laying and backfilling of the gas pipeline branch have already been completed.

“For facility construction, the area terrain required pipeline laying by horizontal directional drilling*. Throughout the entire gas pipeline section, there are 29 water crossings with a total length of 6 km", says Andrey Arkadevich Nadeyev, Head of Stroytransgaz’s Office of Yuryevets GDS Pipeline Construction.

*With the horizontal directional drilling method, utilities are pulled through a borehole drilled along a curved path below the ground level. It helps to preserve the landscape and infrastructure at the drilling site. The precision of pipeline laying along the given trajectory is ensured by a transmitter located in the drill string.

Today, the following activities are underway onsite: installation of block valve stations for gas flow control, construction of access roads for site facilities, and landscaping. Construction of the supporting infrastructure, i.e. the facility utilities (communication lines, electrical networks, networks and instrumentation used to automate the facility operation), is underway.

Erection of a gas distribution station (GDS), max capacity 24,000 m³ per hour, is in progress. Its main purpose is to treat and prepare fuel, and maintain the required level of gas pressure at the outlet for safe delivery of blue fuel to the end consumers. The GDS installed at the facility is fully automated and is controlled independently. Production processes at the GDS will be controlled by gas equipment operators, for whom STG is building a duplex residential building.

To protect the gas pipeline branch against corrosion caused by the electric current, two dedicated units with deep anode beds are to be installed in pre-drilled wells (30 meters deep).

An important part of the project is the testing of the constructed gas pipeline. The tests must be carried out to prevent any emergencies. Such control activities guarantee the reliability and safety of operation of the gas distribution system and installed equipment. Testing of the gas pipeline built in Yuryevets is done by several methods, and some of the tests are performed not only upon completion of construction, but also at stages when the gas pipeline has not yet been laid in a trench, and after pipeline backfilling. The facility in Yuryevets is being tested hydraulically (operation under extreme pressure) and pneumatically (testing with compressed air). In September, the gas distribution station will be tested as well.

35 units of machinery are involved in the work daily.

Upon construction completion, the specialists will conduct the facility commissioning.

Background:

Development of gas supply and gasification systems in the Russian Federation regions is one of the top priorities of Gazprom PJSC.

In 2005–2021, 39,000 km of gas pipelines were built in 69 constituent entities of the Russian Federation, while the investments amounted to about RUB 489 billion. In total, over 1.1 million households and apartments were provided with gas during this period, and more than 6,000 boiler houses and industrial enterprises were connected.

Today, 68 Russian constituent entities and Gazprom PJSC have jointly signed and are implementing the Programs for Regional Gas Supply and Gasification Development for 2021–2025. To ensure construction of inter-settlement gas pipelines, GDS and gas pipeline branches, Gazprom provides funding in the amount of RUB 526.1 billion. Over two thirds of investments are intended for rural areas. In total, 24.4 thousand kilometres of inter-settlement gas pipelines will be built (2.5 times more vs. the previous five-year period), the groundwork will be laid for gasification of 3,632 settlements (2.7 times more vs. the previous five-year period).

Under general contracts concluded with Gazprom Mezhregiongaz LLC, Stroytransgaz JSC is to carry out construction of 11 gasification projects with a total length of over 231 km, including 7 inter-settlement gas pipelines and 4 gas pipeline branches and GDSs.