The Chairman of the Management Committee of Gazprom Alexey Miller and President of the Sakha-Yakutia Republic Vyacheslav Shtyrov signed an agreement on setting up a new joint stock company.

The new company will be engaged in exploration for and development of oil and gas fields in Yakutia as well as in the storage, transportation and sales of hydrocarbons and products of hydrocarbon processing. The company is believed to be capable of meeting the demand for hydrocarbons in Yakutia and East Siberian and Far East regions of the Russian Federation, and delivering hydrocarbons abroad.

Under the Agreement, the stock of the venture will be shared as follows: Gazprom – 51%, the government of Yakutia – 49%.

The parties agreed to submit the documents required for the company registration before February 1, 2003. The government of Yakutia will nominate the Director General of the Company, and Gazprom will nominate the Chairman of the Board.

The Agreement is signed within the frames of agreements previously concluded between Gazprom’s Management and the government of Yakutia, and in line with the RF Government Order 1975-p dated 16 July 2002 and the Program for the development of gas resources of East Siberia and the Far East, calling for the development of the gas supply network in Russia’s Eastern regions and construction of a gas export route to the markets in the Asia-Pacific region.

According to the plans, operations of the Company on the Yakutia market will spur the implementation of the “Regional program for the gas supply system development in the Republic of Sakha-Yakutia in 2002 – 2006 and Main objectives until the year 2010”, including construction of branch lines to the settlements along the existing gas pipeline from the Srednevilyuiskoye gas and condensate field to Yakutsk as well as branch lines to the regions of Central and West Yakutia.

“Gazprom is planning to come to Yakutia for long. The Republic possesses the richest gas resources, development of which will allow us to secure gas supply not only to the East Siberia and the Far East but to penetrate the Asia-Pacific markets. The joint venture will become the locomotive of gas supply in the region in the nearest future”, said Alexey Miller after signing the Agreement.

DIVISION OF RELATIONS WITH MASS MEDIA