Gazprom’s Headquarters has convened today a working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of Gazprom’s Management Committee and Jean-Francois Cirelli, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Gaz de France.

The parties addressed the prospects for cooperation in the energy sector, placing a focus on potential extension of existing long-term contracts for Russian natural gas deliveries to France, boosting of supply volumes and Gazprom’s operations in the French gas market undergoing liberalization.

The meeting also studied possibilities of implementing joint gas extraction projects and promoting cooperation given the upcoming merger of Gaz de France and the French-Belgian company Suez.

The parties emphasized that Gazprom and Gaz de France were successfully interacting in the LNG supply to the US sector through pipeline gas to LNG swaps as well as were developing fruitful cooperation in personnel training.

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Gaz de France is a major European natural gas company engaged in gas exploration, production, marketing and distribution.

Since the beginning of cooperation in the gas supply sector back in 1975, Gazprom has provided Gaz de France with over 260 bcm of gas, including with 13.1 bcm in 2005.

On 28 June 2003, Gazprom and Gaz de France signed a Memorandum on cooperation deepening. In addition to the gas supply business, Gaz de France and Gazprom have cooperated in the energy saving, transmission capacity upgrading, gas loss reduction, underground gas storage facility construction and operation, liquefied natural gas production and staff re-training sectors.

On September 19, 2005, Gazprom and Gaz de France signed a Protocol for further cooperation deepening.

On November 23, 2005, Gazprom and Gaz de France struck the first pipeline gas for LNG swap deal. In early December 2005, a tanker filled with LNG was sold to Shell Western LNG at the Cove Point regasification terminal (Maryland, USA).