Led by Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, a Gazprom delegation paid today a working visit to the Republic of Serbia.

Within the visit Alexey Miller met with Boris Tadic, President of the Republic of Serbia. During the negotiations agreements have been reached on signing before the end of 2008 the Crucial Provisions of the draft Agreement of Cooperation on the construction of the gas pipeline and natural gas transit across the Republic of Serbia within the South Stream project, the Memorandum of Understanding aimed at cooperating in the gas storage sector within the Banatski Dvor project, as well as the Agreement on the acquisition of a controlling stake in Serbian Oil Industry (NIS).

According to Alexey Miller after the meeting, “the Russian and the Serbian parties confirmed their commitment to the arrangements fixed in the intergovernmental agreements of cooperation in the oil and gas sector, as well as agreed upon all the fundamental issues related to documents signing at the corporate level. Moreover, agreements were made on the purchase of a stake in Yugorosgaz by Srbijagas and its subsequent expansion up to 49 per cent, as well as on the signing of a long-term agreement for Russian gas supply to Serbia”.

Alexey Miller underscored the important role of Serbia in the South Stream project implementation and confirmed Gazprom’s intention to perform the project within the preset schedules. “Based on the project’s comprehensive feasibility study a precise construction schedule will be defined, anyway, the project will be implemented on or prior to 2015,” stated Alexey Miller.

Background:

Founded in October 1, 2005 by the Government of the Republic of Serbia within the reorganization of state-owned company Serbian Oil Industry (NIS), Srbijagas is the Serbian state-owned company dealing with natural gas transmission, distribution and storage in Serbia.

On January 25, 2008 the Umbrella Intergovernmental Agreement for the South Stream project and the Banatski Dvor UGS project was inked. In parallel, Gazprom neft signed the Agreement on the acquisition terms for a controlling stake (51 per cent) in state-owned Serbian Oil Industry (NIS).

On February 25, 2008 Gazprom and Srbijagas signed the Agreement of Cooperation to implement a gas pipeline construction project for natural gas transit across the territory of the Republic of Serbia.

The Agreement envisages the establishment of a joint venture to perform a feasibility study, as well as the construction and operation of an at least 10 bcmpa gas pipeline running across Serbia within the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline system.

The Joint Working Group will develop the feasibility study until the joint venture is set up.

Serbian Oil Industry (NIS) is a vertically integrated company dealing with refining of oil and marketing of petrochemicals. NIS is the owner of oil refineries in the towns of Pancevo and Novi Sad, as well as over 500 filling stations in Serbia.

Yugorosgaz was established in 1996 within the Intergovernmental Agreement between Russia and Serbia. Yugorosgaz is mainly focused on gas pipeline engineering, construction and operation, as well as natural gas transit and marketing. Yugorosgaz is co-owned by Gazprom (50 per cent), Srbijagas (25 per cent) and Central ME Energy & Gas AG (25 per cent).