Itera International Energy Company Seeks to Help Housing, Utility Companies Alleviate Gas Debt

MOSCOW, May 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Though Itera International Energy Company is known primarily for the energy services it offers throughout Russia and the United States, the company recently made headlines for a slightly different reason. In early April, executives from the energy company sat down with prominent Russian officials to offer ideas to local housing and utilities companies, eager to alleviate their gas debt.

Itera International Energy Company's Chairman of the Management Board, Vladimir Makeev, met with Aleksander Misharin, Governor of Russia's Sverdlovsk Region, for a far-ranging conversation about gas supply issues.  The meeting was attended by heads of the local municipalities with the most extreme gas debts.

The meeting was prompted by the worsening problem of natural gas debt in the area; following the winter heating season, many areas have found their debt for supplied fuel sources spiraling out of control. Itera International Energy Company was ready to present its own solution to solve the pressing matter.

Much of the meeting focused on some of the measures and procedures developed by International Energy Company and its local subsidiary, CJSC "Uralsevergaz," to address the issue of gas debts among area housing and utilities companies, as well as to normalize their settlements for energy carriers. Various provisions were discussed and many of them agreed upon, including an innovative new partnership between the gas supplier and local municipal entities, designed to better regulate fuel consumption in future seasons.

Itera's Makeev emerged from the meeting enthusiastic. Says Makeev, "We believe the proposed measures [will] significantly strengthen the payment discipline of gas consumers." Among these consumers he specifically names housing and utility companies. He also voices his support for Sverdlovsk regional Government: "We support all decisions taken by the Governor to address the debt issue, including more active involvement of law enforcement agencies to stop housing and utilities companies' deliberate bankruptcy practices, [as well as] 'schemes' under which boilers are leased each season to succeeding 'housing and utilities businessmen,' or transferred for use to new municipal unitary enterprises."

ABOUT:

Itera International Energy Company is a vertically integrated company founded in 1992, with dozens of enterprises in CIS, Baltic States, Western Europe, Asia, and also in the United States.

From 1994, Itera's main business activity is natural gas.  Starting in 1998, Itera Oil and Gas Company, within the Itera Group, had been expanding its own gas production in the Yamal-Nenets region of Russia and have invested over two billion dollars into infrastructure.  Overall, over 250 billion cubic meters of gas was produced at Itera's gas fields.  Total volume of gas sold by Itera has surpassed 600 billion cubic meters.  Itera's strategic business developments are also reaching into development, biochemical and power generating segments.     

The American division of the company, Itera USA, was founded in 1992. In addition to their work in the energy industry, Itera USA has also found success in timber, real estate, and more. Itera always welcomes new ideas, and strives to build bridges between peoples and cultures through the implementation of quality energy solutions.

SOURCE Itera International Energy Company