Today Alexey Miller, Chairman of Gazprom’s Management Committee has conducted a traditional pre-holiday conference call with subsidiary heads.

Wishing each subsidiary’s team a Happy New Year and a Merry Christmas, Alexey Miller said:

“On behalf of Gazprom’s Management Committee and myself let me sincerely wish all of you a Happy New Year and a Merry Christmas.

This expiring year has become a crucial period for the sustainable development of Gazprom as the world’s leading energy firm.

I am proud to emphasize that in the expiring year the first tanker with Gazprom’s LNG on board arrived in the USA. Thus, we installed Gazprom’s flag in the US market.

Full ramp-up of the Blue Stream gas pipeline, a unique transmission artery of Gazprom, solidified our positioning in Europe.

First steps in the North European gas pipeline construction will help expand our businesses in the European market, enhance security & safety and maneuverability of gas supply and directly link gas transmission networks of Russia and Europe.

Among this year’s most prominent events I’d like to single out Gazprom’s buying into the Sibneft oil company, which is the largest transaction in the new Russia’s history. The alignment of forces in the Russian energy market changed in Gazprom’s favor, we reinforced our competitive advantages.

We did a big scope of work to switch to market-based principles of cooperation in the gas industry with all the countries importing our gas. This is a significant step towards forming a civilized gas market within the former Soviet Union.

I am very glad to point out that investors look favorably upon Gazprom’s activity: the company’s capitalization surpassed the US $160 bln notch. We signed crucial documents on the Gazprom share market liberalization.”