The Gazprom headquarters hosted today a working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Company's Management Committee and Lee Yun-ho, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Korea to Russia.

The parties discussed the prospects for the Russian-Korean cooperation in the energy sector. In particular, they shared the opinion that the Roadmap on natural gas supplies from Russia to Korea signed by Gazprom and Kogas in September would accelerate the project.

The parties negotiated the potential joint projects in Russia's Far East as part of the Eastern Gas Program.

Based on the meeting results, Alexey Miller and Lee Yun-ho expressed the unanimous opinion that the growing natural gas consumption in Asian-Pacific countries offered great prospects for the regional gas business.

Background

On May 12, 2003 Gazprom and Korea's Kogas entered into the five-year Agreement of Cooperation which was extended for another five-year term in 2008. The Agreement embraces a wide spectrum of issues including the study of possible ways to deliver Russian natural gas to Korea. To implement the Agreement, the parties set up the permanent Joint Working Group.

On October 17, 2006 the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Korea signed the Agreement of Cooperation in the Gas Industry identifying Gazprom and Kogas as the companies authorized for overseeing natural gas delivery from Russia to the Republic of Korea.

On September 29, 2008 Gazprom and Kogas signed the Memorandum of Understanding on natural gas supplies from Russia to Korea.

On June 23, 2009 as part of the working visit by Gazprom's delegation to the Republic of Korea, Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Company's Management Committee and Choo Kangsoo, President – CEO of Kogas signed the Agreement to jointly explore the natural gas supply project. In pursuance of the Agreement, a final report was issued in 2010. The report studied options for natural gas supplies from the terminal point of the Sakhalin – Khabarovsk – Vladivostok gas transmission system to Korea.

On September 15, 2011 Gazprom and Kogas signed the Roadmap on natural gas supplies from the Russian Federation to the Republic of Korea. The Roadmap represents a plan of top-priority actions needed for the project implementation.