Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee and Vladimir Rashevsky, General Director of Siberian Coal Energy Company (SUEK) today have inked a Protocol of Intentions.

Under the Protocol, the parties are intent on creating a joint venture based on power and coal assets owned by each of the companies. A precise list of the assets to be contributed in the joint venture along with details on the procedure of offsetting a possible difference in the asset value will be identified at a preparatory phase.

The deal is planned to be agreed on and closed in the 1st quarter of 2007, with the shareholdings in the joint venture to be split as follows: Gazprom, 50 per cent plus 1 share and SUEK, 50 per cent minus 1 share.

The partners intend to develop a detailed strategy for the new company, the mission of which will be becoming a key player in the Russian power market and holding a leading position in the global power and coal industries. The joint venture’s operations will be aimed at significantly boosting the economic efficiency and balanced use of coal and gas in the power industry and should contribute to economical supply of gas for power generation purposes.

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Siberian Coal Energy Company (SUEK) is Russia’s largest coal business supplying about 30 per cent of the domestic and about 20 per cent of export power-generating coal needs. SUEK has branch offices and subsidiary companies in the Krasnoyarsk, Primorsky and Khabarovsk Krais, Irkutsk, Chita and Kemerovo Oblasts, Buryatia and Khakasia.

In 2006 SUEK Group extracted 89.7 mln t and marketed 85.7 mln t of coal. Over 2005 the company exported a total of 23.7 mln t of coal. SUEK employs some 43,000 people.

SUEK is a prominent private stakeholder in a string of energy companies in Siberia and the Far East.