Norilsk Nickel presented its experience of creating infrastructure for natural gas transport in the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory
At the Public Chamber of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Norilsk Nickel’s experience in creating infrastructure for gas-powered transport in the Arctic was presented.
A round table on the use of natural gas motor fuel in transport was held in the Chamber of Environmental Organizations of the Civil Assembly of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Participants discussed practices developed in the region, opportunities and barriers to using natural gas in different modes of transport.
First Deputy Minister of Ecology of the Krasnoyarsk Territory Yulia Gumenyuk emphasized that the contribution of motor transport to the level of pollution is significant, especially in winter and when there is no wind.
“Accordingly, the more transport on environmentally friendly fuels, be it natural gas or electricity, on the highways of cities in the region, the better the condition of the atmospheric air. The Ministry of Environment always supports and stimulates by legal means the transition to environmentally friendly fuels,” noted the Deputy Minister.
The round table participants spoke about the lack of infrastructure, which prevents the widespread use of natural gas vehicles. Representative of Norilsktransgaz JSC Mark Shilykovsky said that in the northern capital of the region, an automobile gas filling compressor station (CNG filling station) built by Norilsk Nickel as part of the federal project “Clean Air” has been operating since 2024. Its productivity is up to 2,400 cubic meters per hour or 17.8 million cubic meters per year. This is enough to refuel up to 280 cars per day.
The station is used to refuel vehicles of the Polar Branch, as well as the municipal enterprise Norilsk Transport. Experience shows that in the conditions of the Far North, gas-powered transport has shown its reliability and efficiency.
“Given the high capacity of the existing station and the fact that the legislation of the Russian Federation provides for a subsidy for the purchase of gas engine equipment, we believe that the fleet of vehicles using this type of fuel should grow. At the same time, we are also talking about private vehicles, the mass re-equipment of which can be ensured by exempting owners of natural gas vehicles from payment of transport tax. Also, gas engine technology can be used in the public sector, and the potential here is colossal. Thus, a number of specific steps can lead to a significant improvement in the quality of atmospheric air and the development of the Krasnoyarsk Territory as a whole,” said Mark Shilykovsky, speaking at the round table.
Chairman of the Chamber of Environmental Organizations of the Civil Assembly of the Krasnoyarsk Territory Pavel Gudovsky noted that the experience of Norilsk is a significant step towards gasification of transport, which can be transferred to other territories of the region:
“All that remains is to create conditions so that it becomes more profitable for the population, business, public utilities and municipal services to use natural gas than diesel or gasoline. It is necessary to develop additional incentive measures at the level of executive and legislative authorities and to interest as many consumers as possible. We are discussing this process, and the Public Chamber is ready to support the initiatives of the regional Ministry of Ecology to improve air quality, since gasification tasks are global, they are at the federal level and come directly from the president of the country.”
An action plan for the development of the gas motor fuel market in Russia, including elaboration at the regional level of the issue of exemption from payment of transport tax, is provided for by the order of the Government of the Russian Federation dated August 29, 2025. The benefit is provided in more than 30 regions. For example, in the Rostov region, which ranks second in the country in terms of development of the gas motor fuel market, the exemption from transport tax is valid until the end of 2030. In the Krasnoyarsk Territory, work on the use of gas motor fuel is still in the initial stages, but the pace should be increased, noted Vice-Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the region Dmitry Sviridov:
“The program for switching to gas as a fuel can, of course, be gradual and be worked out in the first stages on one type of transport. We already have experience in using gas-powered buses, and the range of modes of transport should gradually be expanded. If we talk about benefits in the form of exemption from transport tax, then this is negotiable. Since a preliminary analysis of the impact on the regional budget of this measure showed that the risk of lost income is not so significant, especially if we take into account environmental and other effects. For example, the appearance of gas filling stations in Norilsk is also a contribution to the energy security of remote areas, where diesel fuel is delivered via northern supplies. Gas is located directly on the territory and can reliably supply consumers. In addition, large-scale environmental projects are being implemented in the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, including Norilsk Nickel’s largest sulfur program, and gas as fuel here is not a local measure, but a significant additional contribution to improving the state of the environment.”
