A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Gazprom’s Management Committee Chairman, and Karen Karapetyan, ArmRosgazprom’s Director General, was held today at Gazprom’s headquarters.

The participants discussed current gas deliveries to the Republic of Armenia, gas injection into the Abovyanskoye UGS, ArmRosgazprom’s operating results and business plans for the future, gas deliveries to Armenia for 2004 and long-term strategy for providing gas to the Republic.

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Since Armenia doesn’t produce natural gas, country’s energy sector depends on natural gas import to large extent.

Gazprom resumed gas deliveries to the Republic in June 2003. Gazexport, a 100% Gazprom’s subsidiary, delivers gas to the Russian-Armenian border where gas is purchased by ArmRosgazprom.

In 2003, Gazprom supplied predetermined volumes of natural gas (over 288 million cubic meters) to Armenian consumers; additional 837.5 million cubic meters of natural gas were delivered to the country by ITERA.

The contracts concluded envisage supply of up to 1.5 bcm of gas to Armenia via Georgia in 2004; the volume is expected to be increased up to 1.9 bcm in 2007.

ArmRosgazprom, an Armenian-Russian closed-type joint stock company, was established in December 1997. Gazprom, the Armenian Energy Ministry and ITERA hold 45%, 45% and 10% of ArmRosgazprom’s shares, respectively. ArmRosgazprom’s charter capital accounts for USD 280 million.

ArmRosgazprom was set up primarily to deliver natural gas to Armenia and to transit natural gas via the Republic to third countries. In addition, the joint company transports, stores, processes, distributes and sells natural gas as well as upgrades and develops the Armenian gas transportation and UGS systems.

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