A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Gazprom’s Management Committee Chairman and George Verberg, CEO of N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie and President of the International Gas Union (IGU), was held today at Gazprom’s Headquarters.

The parties deliberated on the progress in and prospects of cooperation between Gazprom and Gasunie, the IGU’s operating results and program as well as the prospect of holding the 2012 World Gas Congress in Moscow.

At the same time, the parties analyzed and discussed the situation on the European gas market and, in particular, focused on the energy dialogue being built up between Russia and the European Union.

Alexey Miller and George Verberg addressed issues of Gasunie’s participation in engineering the North-European gas pipeline and agreed to shortly sign a new Cooperation Protocol, taking into account additional joint businesses.

Reference:

N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie was incorporated back in 1963 as a company dealing with natural gas supply and transmission. In 1999, Gazprom and Gasunie signed a Contract on Russian gas deliveries to the Netherlands, prescribing a total of 80 bcm of gas to be delivered within 20 years.

In 2003, the Netherlands received 2.3 bcm of gas, with roughly 4 bcm targeted for 2004.

The aforementioned Contract laid foundations for promoting further cooperation between the 2 companies in various sectors, from ensuring contractual commitments fulfillment and searching for new ways of carrying on joint business on the European gas market, up to experience sharing in information technologies sector, devising planning and simulation methods and personnel management. In 1999, Gazprom and N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie also signed a Strategic Cooperation Protocol, under which the parties still keep on actively interacting and implementing new ideas of joint business and experience sharing.

In 2001, Gazprom and Gasunie took up the initiative to implement a joint Project on exchanging knowledge and working experience in the energy sector. The initiative was backed by the Russian and Dutch Governments. The Project was called “Gas University”. Some time later, the University of Groningen joined the Project and together with Gasunie set up the Energy Delta Institute.

Starting September 2002, specialists from Gazprom, the RF Energy Ministry, Fortum, Gasunie, Shell and other companies have been studying at the Groningen Meerwold Training Center under the Program on the Gas Market Development Strategy. The training courses have been organized by the Energy Delta Institute.

Gazprom and Gasunie are building active cooperation on an international scale, for example, within the frames of the International Gas Union presided by George Verberg. The next World Gas Congress will take place in 2006, in Amsterdam.

The IGU was promoted back in 1931. At present, the IGU comprises gas associations and companies from 67 countries of the world. The IGU is an authoritative international non-governmental organization representing a major center for analyzing and promoting worldwide experience of the gas industry. Russia became the IGU member back in 1957 and, for the time being, is officially represented in the IGU by Gazprom.

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