Today, Gazprom’s Headquarters hosted an annual Meeting with the RF Presidential and Governmental regional representatives, which focused on the issue of promoting cooperation between the Company and Russian regions.

Alexander Ryazanov, Deputy Chairman of Gazprom’s Management Committee, Viktor Ilyushin, Gazprom’s Management Committee Member and Head of the Company’s Department of Relationships with Regional Authorities of the Russian Federation, Mikhail Akselrod, Gazprom’s Management Committee Member and Head of the Company’s Department of Capital Construction and Transportation, Boris Posyagin, Head of Gazprom’s Central Dispatch Management Center, Sergey Pankratov, Deputy Head of Gazprom’s Long-Term Development Department and Nikolai Isakov, Mezhregiongaz’s Deputy Director General took part in the meeting.

The meeting addressed the gas industry development prospects in the RF regions, gas supply structure optimization, implementation of the Program on gas deliveries to the RF regions and ensurance of stable payment inflow for the gas supplied.

A. Ryazanov highly evaluated the role of some RF regions in elaborating Gazprom’s core promising projects targeted at developing the Yamal, East Siberian and Far Eastern fields as well as at constructing the North-European gas pipeline.

The parties paid special attention to the issue of establishing an integrated gas supply channel in every Russian region. For the time being, up to 10 gas distribution organizations can operate in one RF region. In A. Ryazanov’s opinion, by establishing a gas distribution organization in every RF region, Gazprom will receive an opportunity to raise the security and ensure the financial transparency of gas deliveries to Russian consumers, to ensure collection of gas payments and to implement a united pricing policy in every RF region.

The RF Presidential and Governmental regional representatives visited Gazprom’s key production structure, the Central Gas Flow Dispatching Department.

Reference:

As of 1 March 2004, Gazprom adopted the Cooperation Agreement with 70 RF regions. For the time being, the Company is making arrangements for concluding cooperation agreements with another 6 RF regions.

Gazprom provides gas deliveries to 66 RF regions.

As of 1 January 2003, the Company supplied gas to 683 Russian cities, 782 settlements and 19.7 thousand localities.

In 2003 Gazprom delivered 280.91 bcm of gas to Russian consumers. Gas was paid for at 98.4%.

Despite the Russian consumers’ natural gas debt decreased by RUR 3.28 billion in 2003, as of 1 January 2004, the debt totaled RUR 35.35 billion.

In 2003 it was the population that owed 44.74% of gas payments while the residential sector owed 11.33% and state-financed bodies, 5.36%.

DIVISION OF RELATIONS WITH MASS MEDIA