Gazprom Management Committee Chairman Alexey Miller and StatoilHydro President and CEO Helge Lund signed a Memorandum of Understanding today in St. Petersburg on the sidelines of the XIII International Economic Forum.

The document envisages that both companies jointly engage in geological exploration, development and production of hydrocarbon resources in northern regions.

The Memorandum stipulates that the parties will cooperate in northern regions of Russia and Norway to discover and develop hydrocarbon fields, as well as to design technologies for exploration, production and transportation of corresponding resources.

The signed document is valid for three years and will replace the 2005 Memorandum of Understanding between Gazprom, Statoil and Hydro.

“The partnership between Gazprom and StatoilHydro is based on long-term experience and advanced technologies possessed by our companies that are capable of guaranteeing success to any of our projects. The development of the biggest of the projects – the Shtokman field – will become a starting point for the development of Arctic hydrocarbon reserves, a catalyst for the design and adaptation of technologies, which will help our companies operate efficiently in harsh northern climatic conditions.

Rich offshore resources of the Arctic as well as unique experience of Gazprom in implementation of major energy projects open dazzling possibilities for further development of our large-scale partnership,” Alexey Miller said.

“The signing of a new Memorandum demonstrates the continuity and long-term relations between StatoilHydro and Gazprom. Norway and Russia are strategic partners in the North, sharing opportunities and responsibilities in the Arctic region.

StatoilHydro has been developing offshore fields in harsh conditions for 40 years. We possess efficient technologies and valuable project execution experience which we are prepared to share and further develop in cooperation with our Russian partners. We are looking forward to further cooperation with Gazprom for the mutual benefit of our companies and the two nations,” Helge Lund said.

Background:

In October 2007 the merger of the oil and gas businesses of Hydro and Statoil Companies resulted in the unified StatoilHydro Company.

Basic activities of StatoilHydro include oil and gas prospecting and production. The company has been producing hydrocarbons on the Norwegian continental shelf for over 30 years and is the pioneer in the implementation of offshore projects in harsh climatic conditions.

The government is the major stockholder of StatoilHydro (67 per cent).

In June 2005 Gazprom, Statoil, and Hydro signed a Memorandum of Understanding to carry out joint work to discover potential hydrocarbon resources in the Arctic; design technologies for commercial and technological development of Arctic shelf fields.

Gazprom and StatoilHydro are partners in the Phase 1 of the Shtokman gas condensate field development.