Gazprom 1980s, the Ministry of Gas Industry found large natural gas reserves in Siberia, the Ural region and the Volga region. The Soviet Union became a major gas producer. In August 1989, under the leadership of Viktor Chernomyrdin, the Ministry of Gas Industry was renamed the "State Gas Concern Gazprom", and became the Soviet Union's first state run corporate enterprise. In late 1991, when the Soviet Union dissolved, gas industry assets were transferred to newly established national companies, such as Ukrgazprom and Turkmengazprom. Gazprom kept assets located in Russia and secured a monopoly in the gas sector. In December 1992, when
Gazprom Promgaz for gas supply of South Ossetia and Armenia. Gazprom Promgaz plans gas transportation and its distribution systems, as well as investigating various research in the field of natural gas. The company is the general planner of the natural gas supply program for Russian regions, developed by Gazprom. The company is also a research center of Gazprom in the field of regional power systems, the supply, distribution and use of gas, efficient energy use and energy-savings, price setting for construction of gas industry objectives, the development of regional hydrocarbon fields and development of non-traditional hydrocarbon resources including coal bed methane. Gazprom