The Gazprom Headquarters hosted today a working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Company’s Management Committee and Vagit Alekperov, President of LUKOIL.

The parties addressed the implementation progress with the General Agreement on strategic partnership over 2005 to 2014.

Particular attention was paid to the development of the gas field discovered within the Tsentralnaya structure in the Caspian Sea by the TsentrCaspneftegaz joint venture.

The meeting also discussed the operation prospects for Neftegazpvaya Kompaniya “Razvitiye Regionov” (Regional Development Oil and Gas Company), a joint venture of Gazprom Neft and LUKOIL.

Background:

Cooperation between Gazprom and LUKOIL is based on the General Agreement on strategic partnership over 2005 to 2014 signed in March 2005.

Under the Agreement, the parties are intent on jointly implementing oil and gas field exploration and development projects in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the Russian sector of the Caspian Sea, the Republic of Uzbekistan and other regions, as well as developing the cooperation in oil and gas condensate marine transportation from northern areas of the Nenets and Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrugs.

In June 2003 Gazprom and LUKOIL created the TsentrCaspneftegaz joint venture on a par basis to develop together with the Kazakh KazMunaiGaz company the Tsentralnaya structure located in the Russian sector of the Caspian Sea, 150 km east of Makhachkala. In May 2008 a large oil and gas condensate field was discovered within the Tsentralnaya structure.

In December 2007 Gazprom Neft and LUKOIL set up the Neftegazpvaya Kompaniya “Razvitiye Regionov” joint venture. Gazprom and LUKOIL hold 51 and 49 per cent in the venture’s authorized capital. The joint venture is managed on a parity basis. The joint venture is dealing with acquisition of subsoil use rights, geological survey of the jointly acquired subsoil areas, exploration & production of hydrocarbon feedstock from the jointly acquired fields and their development, execution of infrastructure projects and transportation & marketing of produced hydrocarbon feedstock.