Alexey Miller, the Chairman of the Management Committee of Gazprom and Henri Proglio, Chairman and CEO of EDF held a working meeting today within the framework of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum – 2012.

The parties discussed the interaction of the companies in the energy sector.

Following the talks, EDF and Gazprom signed a Cooperation Agreement in respect of potential collaboration for gas-fired power plants in Europe. The document provides for the possibility of joint construction of gas-fired power plants and acquisition of existing ones on a parity basis. The Agreement also stated that Gazprom would be the exclusive supplier of gas for the needs of joint power plants.

“The Agreement between Gazprom and EDF is a culmination of the intensive work between the companies aimed at developing an optimal model of cooperation on power generation. I am confident that joint efforts in this strategically important area will significantly contribute to the strengthening of the energy dialogue between Russia and Europe,” – Alexey Miller said.

“This Agreement is part of the ongoing collaboration between EDF and Gazprom, which began in November 2009, within the areas of gas and electricity, the first real implementation of which was EDF's involvement in the offshore section of the South Stream gas pipeline project. Today, EDF and Gazprom are extending their collaboration to future projects for gas-fired power stations in Europe. EDF aims at building strong partnerships with worldwide major energy players,” – Henri Proglio stated.

Background

The EDF Group, one of the leaders in the European energy market, is an integrated energy company active in all areas of the business: generation, transmission, distribution, energy supply and trading. The Group is the leading electricity producer in Europe.

The Agreement stipulates joint efforts for gas-fired power projects implementation.

In accordance with the Agreement, the parties will consider the possibility of joint construction of gas-fired power plants and/or acquisition of the existing gas-fired power plants in Europe on a parity basis.

In addition, the Agreement recognizes the parties' intention to carry out joint activities aimed at searching, selection, economic evaluation of projects and assets, and preparation of a final investment decision on the selected projects and assets.