The Management Committee took into consideration the information about the trends in natural gas demand and the changes in gas prices on the global markets of energy carriers.

It was underlined at the meeting that the demand for natural gas was on a rise at the moment exceeding the pre-crisis level both on the domestic and foreign markets. Thus, starting from July 2009, Russian gas sales to Europe have been surpassing the identical figures of 2008 and 2007. At the same time, daily gas offtake by European consumers was over 15 per cent higher on a number of days in October 2009 (up to 90 million cubic meters per day) if compared to 2008. Currently, daily gas consumption in Russia has already reached the level obtained in October 2008.

The research held by Gazprom gives a strong indication that the upward trend in gas demand on the global energy markets will sustain in the long run. For instance, annual gas consumption in European countries is forecast to reach 700 billion cubic meters by 2020, which is a 12.5 per cent increase versus the current level.

In addition, Gazprom foresees an upturn in gas demand in North America and the Asia-Pacific region. According to the Company’s estimates, by 2020 gas consumption will exceed 880 billion cubic meters (6.5 per cent increase) in North America and 710 billion cubic meters (59 per cent increase) in the Asia-Pacific region.