Today, as part of the visit to Germany, a Gazprom delegation headed by Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Company’s Management Committee, took part in the celebrations dedicated to the 35th anniversary of Russian natural gas supplies.

During the celebrations in Leipzig, Alexander Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of Gazprom, Director General of Gazprom export, and Rainer Seele, Member of the Board of Directors of Wintershall Holding AG, Chairman of WINGAS GmbH signed a Memorandum of Intent to extend the gas supply contract in force between Gazprom export and WIEH for 35 years through to 2043.

This is the largest contract ever signed in the history of the Russian-German partnership in the energy sector. The contract prolongation will provide WIEH with a total of over 500 bcm of natural gas from Russia.

“Europe has been and continues to be our most important market, and Germany is not only a major consumer of Russian natural gas among European countries, but also a time-proven partner. It is symbolic that we are making a crucial step towards extending the bilateral contract while marking 35 years of gas supply from Russia to Germany. I am sure that our cooperation will solidify thanks to joint projects such as Nord Stream,” Alexey Miller said.

“Our supply arrangements are the clearest illustration of how important the European market is for Gazprom. Russia is prepared to meet Europe’s growing demand for gas with long-term and reliable supplies in the future, too. No other producer has so far been willing to make such long-term commitments. Europe will do the right thing to continue its partnership with Russia: despite the diversification of gas suppliers Russia will continue being Europe’s most important partner in future. At the same time, we should be aware that Europe cannot take reliable gas supply from Russia for granted. In an equal partnership Russia’s interests will have to be considered as well,” Dr. Seele said at the signing ceremony.

Background:

Wintershall Holding AG –is a fully owned subsidiary of BASF Corporation. Wintershall Holding operates in the energy sector. Gazprom and Wintershall have been cooperating for 15 years now. The companies set up joint ventures – WINGAS and WIEH.

BASF SE is a Gazprom’s partner in the Yuzhno-Russkoye field development and Nord Stream pipeline construction.

Wintershall Erdgas Handelshaus GmbH (WIEH) was founded in 1990. The company is working in the gas trading sector and is responsible for natural gas purchases, transportation, storage and marketing in a number of European countries.

The major field of WINGAS GmbH activities is natural gas sales. The company supplies hydrocarbons to customers in Germany, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, Austria, Denmark and the Czech Republic. WINGAS customers include municipal and regional gas suppliers, industrials and power plants.

Pursuant to the Assets Swap Agreement between Gazprom and BASF, Gazprom Group has increased its stake in WINGAS GmbH up to 50 per cent minus one share.