Today in Berlin (Germany) the Gazprom Management Committee Chairman Alexey Miller took part in festive events dedicated to the 40th anniversary of Russian gas supplies to Germany under a long-term contract with E.ON.

Participating in the events were also Dr. Johannes Teyssen, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of E.ON, Sigmar Gabriel, German Vice-Chancellor and Federal Minister of Economics and Energy, Vladimir Grinin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Germany, statesmen and representatives of business communities from both countries.

“In the early 1970s the Gas-Pipes milestone deal laid the foundation for the comprehensive energy supply system in Europe. Nowadays Germany is the largest Russian gas purchaser and Russia is a major energy supplier to the German economy. Over the whole period of the cooperation, E.ON has been supplied with over 600 billion cubic meters – more than a half of the total gas amount Russia has exported to Germany during 40 years, from the early days of the partnership.

Jointly with E.ON we produce gas from the Yuzhno-Russkoye oil and gas field. We successfully completed the Nord Stream global infrastructure project together. This cutting-edge gas transmission system directly linked Russia to largest European consumers of natural gas and guaranteed energy security of the entire Europe,” said Alexey Miller.

“Today we have every reason to feel joy and pride about the past forty years of our cooperation. Together we managed to build the relationship which survived through all crises and problems we had encountered. We face the future with confidence,” said Dr. Johannes Teyssen, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of E.ON.

As part of the event, Alexey Miller met with Sigmar Gabriel, German Vice-Chancellor and Federal Minister of Economics and Energy. The parties addressed the bilateral cooperation embracing the energy sector, Russian gas supplies to Germany and joint infrastructure projects development.

Background

E.ON is Europe's largest investor-owned electric power and gas company.

E.ON Global Commodities (former Ruhrgas) is a subsidiary of E.ON and is responsible for the group's gas business in Europe, including natural gas production, transportation, storage and marketing. In the early 1970s Ruhrgas became one of the first large buyers of Soviet gas in Western Europe.

Currently, the cooperation between Gazprom and E.ON is not limited to gas trading. The companies jointly participate in the Yuzhno-Russkoye oil and gas field development as well as the Nord Stream gas pipeline construction. Moreover, Gazprom and E.ON actively cooperate in the sci-tech area.

Germanyis the largest export market for Gazprom. In 2013 Gazprom supplied Germany with 40.18 billion cubic meters, showing a 20 per cent rise as compared to 2012 (33.16 billion cubic meters).