A Board of Directors’ meeting has commenced at the Gazprom Headquarters.

The Board of Directors heard a report on project financing methods being applied by Gazprom.

The Board of Directors entrusted the Management Committee with further selecting and preparing projects to be executed through project financing methods, including preparing internal documents and developing a range of procedures to ensure efficient project monitoring.

Reference:

On April 27, 2005, the Gazprom Board of Directors endorsed the Major Guidelines for implementing Gazprom’s investment projects through project financing methods.

Before the end of 2006 Gazprom intends to approve the Regulations for Gazprom’s investment projects prepared and executed through project financing methods, which broaden and specify the basic provisions of the Major Guidelines.

Applying project financing on a wider basis will enable Gazprom to reduce project investment risks by risk sharing among partners, raise its investment potential by attracting extra finance without bigger debt burden and enhance the efficiency of investment control. This move will also make it possible to bolster the introduction of innovative technologies, know-how and other knowledge shared by investment project partners. Consequently, project financing will contribute to enhancing Gazprom’s capitalization.

Project financing principles are being applied within the following projects: development of the Achimov deposits at the Urengoy gas and condensate field, Nord Stream gas pipeline construction, completion of the Novy Urengoy Gas Chemicals Complex construction. A focus is also placed on the possibility of applying project financing principles within the Yuzhno-Russkoye gas and oil field project.