Moscow, December 9, 2002; Sibneft has acquired the Belarus government’s 10.83% equity stake in oil company Slavneft through a privatization auction. Slavneftebank represented the interests of Sibneft in the deal, which closed on December 6, 2002. Sibneft will pay 6.6 billion Russian rubles ($207 million) for Belarus’ Slavneft shares.

“We are pleased that we were able to successfully participate in the Belarus government’s transparent privatization sale of its stake in Slavneft,” said Sibneft president Eugene Shvidler. “We hope that this deal serves as a preview of what lies ahead in the December 18 auction for the Russian government’s shares in Slavneft.”

Contact:

John Mann
Sibneft
Tel: +7 (095) 777 3116
Fax: +7 (095) 777 3114
JohnM@sibneft.ru
www.sibneft.com