Gazprom Management Committee Chairman Alexey Miller and E.ON Ruhrgas AG CEO Bernhard Reutersberg signed an asset exchange agreement in the area of gas production and trade in St. Petersburg today in the presence of Russian President Dmitri Medvedev.

The agreement gives Gazprom 49% of ZAO Gerosgaz, which owns 2.93% of Gazprom, thus transferring full ownership of this stake from E.ON Ruhrgas to Gazprom. For its part, E.ON will receive 25% of the charter capital of OAO Severneftegazprom by the end of the year.

As a result of the deal the ownership of Severneftegazprom will be as follows: Gazprom will own 50% plus six ordinary registered shares; BASF AG will own 25% minus three ordinary registered shares and three preferred shares without voting rights; and E.ON AG will own 25% minus three ordinary registered shares and three preferred shares without voting rights.

«By implementing this asset exchange transaction, Gazprom and E.ON have once again demonstrated a successful development of long-term Russian-German cooperation in the energy sphere. Now our companies are partners in the area of gas production as well. Unique experience of developing the Yuzhno-Russkoye field will not only allow Gazprom and E.ON to strengthen their business ties, but will also serve as further confirmation of our mutual trust and friendship», – Alexey Miller said.

«For over 35 years we have been cooperating closely with Russia. Activity of our interaction has once again been illustrated by our entry in a production project in Russia – development of the Yuzhno-Russkoye field.

Implementing new business initiatives we are at the same time coming considerably closer to our upstream goal: in the long run E.ON intends to increase the production level of our own fields up to at least 10 billion cubic meters of gas», – Bernhard Reutersberg stressed.

Background:

The German company E.ON AG is Europe’s largest private electric power and gas concern. E.ON Ruhrgas AG (until July 1, 2004 Ruhrgas AG) since February 2003 has been the subsidiary of E.ON AG responsible for the group’s gas business in Europe, including production, sales, transport and storage of natural gas.

E.ON Ruhrgas AG is the largest foreign shareholder in Gazprom (currently owning about 6.5%, after the asset exchange transaction is completed, it will own 3.5%).

In October 2008 OJSC Gazprom and E.ON AG signed an agreement on joint participation in the development of the Yuzhno-Russkoye oil and gas field.

OAO Severneftegazprom has a license to engage in infrastructure construction, field development and oil and gas production on the Yuzhno-Russkoye oil and gas field.

The Yuzhno-Russkoye oil and gas field is located in the Krasnoselkupsk District of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District. The field’s reserves are as follows: 856,2 billion cubic meters of category ABC1 gas, 184 billion cubic meters of category C2 gas, and 20.35 million tonnes of oil and gas condensate. The startup complex of the Yuzhno-Russkoye field was launched in October 2007. The field is ready to be increased to its design capacity of 25 billion cubic meters of gas in 2009.

The joint venture ZAO Gerosgaz was formed in 1999 with OOO Gazprom Export owning 51% and E.ON Ruhrgas owning 49%.