Today Kiev hosted the Meeting of the Ukrainian JSC “International Consortium for Managing and Developing Ukraine’s Gas Transportation System”. Alexander Ryazanov, Gazprom’s Management Committe Deputy Chairman, Yury Boiko, Ukraine’s First Deputy Fuel and Energy Minister and NAC Naftogaz Ukrainy’s Management Committee Chairman, representatives from the Ukrainian and Russian Ministries and departments, representatives from Gazprom and Naftogaz Ukraine and official bodies attended the Meeting.

The participants considered the feasibility study of constructing the new Novopskov-Uzhgorod gas pipeline and decided to keep on working on and examine feasibility study in order to present, by March 1, 2004, the materials necessary for taking the respective investment decision and for determining a technical task for the project documentation elaboration.

The parties also discussed and preliminarily approved the the Novopskov-Uzhgorod gas pipeline project financing scheme as well as discussed the criteria for adopting the final investment decision.

The International Consortium’s Directorship was instructed to fully agree the draft documentation on the new gas pipeline loading guarantees and the Draft Agreement on cooperation between Naftogaz Ukraine and Gazprom at the project investment phase.

Finally, the parties examined the documents on the concession legal regulation in Ukraine and agreed to invite specialists from Ukraine’s relevant Ministries and departments to elaborate the Consortium’s operation concession model.

NAC NAFTOGAZ UKRAINE

DIVISION OF RELATIONS WITH MASS MEDIA