At the scheduled meeting, the Board of Directors of JSOC Bashneft approved the Company’s development strategy until 2022 aimed at further increasing Bashneft’s value.

In the upstream segment, the Strategy involves creating a major production centre in Bashneft’s new key operating region, the Nenets Autonomous District; it also includes using new EOR techniques at brownfields and enhancing the efficiency of the existing techniques, implementing the geological exploration programme in the Republic of Bashkortostan, including the development of gas projects.

In the downstream segment, the Strategy involves further implementation of the refinery upgrade programme combined with maintaining the optimal level of oil refining in order to consistently increase the output of gasoline and diesel fuel and stop manufacturing fuel oil and VGO in2017.

In the sphere of petroleum product marketing, the Strategy is aimed at increasing sales margins through integrated development of small wholesale and retail distribution channels to gain wider access to consumers, as well as increasing the sales of niche products, such as jet fuel and lubricants.

The strategy approved by the Board of Directors also outlines Bashneft’s strategic goals in the sphere of HSE, which include leadership among Russian oil companies in this area and compliance with international standards.
At the meeting held on December 20, the Board of Directors also considered issues related to preparing for the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders of JSOC Bashneft to be held on January 17, 2013. The Board of Directors also made the decision to include the following persons in the list of candidates nominated to the Board of Directors:

1. Vitaliy Artyukhov
2. Alexey Buyanov
3. Charles Watson
4. Randall Gossen
5. Peter Jacob Goedvolk
6. Alexander Goncharuk
7. Mikhail Gutseriev
8. Sergey Drozdov
9. Felix Evtushenkov
10. Alexander Korsik
11. Yury Pustovgarov
12. Mikhail Cherny

Bashneft’s Board of Directors also approved the business plan of JSOC Bashneft for 2013, including the long-term capital investment programme, and approved a number of transactions, including related-party transactions.

The transactions approved by Bashneft’s Board of Directors include the acquisition of the Hals Tower office centre from JSFC Sistema for 3.41 billion roubles. The office centre with the total area of 12,120 sq. m is located in Moscow (5 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya Street) and is currently leased by the Company.

INFORMATION ON NEW CANDIDATES NOMINATED TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF JSOC BASHNEFT

Peter Jacob Goedvolk was born in 1957 in Rotterdam. He followed several management studies at the Rotterdam business school. Mr. Goedvolk started his career at Michelin and later worked for a French oil company Total. In 1984 he started Argos Oil and built it through autonomous growth, mergers and acquisitions to an energy company expanding the business up to an annual turnover of more than US$ 18 billion. Since 1994, Mr. Goedvolk has held the position of the president of Argos Group Holding B.v. The company’s core businesses include storage, distribution and the international trade in energy resources.

Mikhail Cherny was born in 1971 in Saratov. In 1994, he graduated from MGIMO with a degree in International Economic Relations. In 2004, he earned an MBA degree at Olin School of Business Washington University in St. Louis. He held the position of the Deputy General Director for Strategy and Energy Markets at OJSC Bashkirenergo. Between 2006 and 2009, he held the post of the Vice President of LLC Morgan Stanley Bank. Previously, he was the adviser to the chairman of the Management Board of the non-commercial partnership Trade System Administrator of the Wholesale Electricity Market of the Unified Energy System. Since October 2011, he has held the position of the Executive Vice President for the Development of Energy Assets of JSCF Sistema.