Sofia hosted a joint meeting of the Managing and Supervisory Boards of Overgas Inc. Attending the meeting on the part of Gazprom were Bogdan Budzulyak, Gazprom’s Management Committee Member and Head of the Company’s Gas Transmission, Underground Storage and Utilization Department, Elena Karpel, Head of Gazprom’s Economic Analysis and Pricing Department, Stanislav Tsygankov, Head of Gazprom’s Foreign Relations Department and Alexander Shkuta, Gazexport’s Deputy Director General.

The Managing and Supervisory Boards addressed the reports on the Managing Board’s operations over the 4th quarter of 2004 and on preparations for the Overgas’ 2005 business plan and budget execution. Additionally, the parties discussed Overgas’ new accounting policy to be altered in accordance with the International Reporting Financial Standards and endorsed the Overgas’ Supervisory and Managing Boards’ meeting timetables and agenda over 2005.

Reference:

Overgas was founded in 1991 for the purpose of constructing and operating gas distribution networks and supplying gas to end-use consumers in Bulgaria.

Until July 1995, Overgas’ shares have been exclusively owned by Bulgarian stockholders.

On 1 July 1995, Russian Joint-Stock Company Gazprom adopted a Shareholders’ Agreement to obtain a stake in Overgas’ authorized capital. Under the Agreement, Gazprom bought off an additional issue of Overgas’ shares, becoming owner of a 50% stake.

Overgas’ major business lines are wholesale and retail trading in natural gas; operation and management of gas distribution networks; sales of fuel and other energies; marketing, designing, production, entrepreneurship and factorship in the power generation, oil & gas refining and household sectors.

At present, Gazprom is a leader in natural gas distribution to Bulgarian end consumers, having built and commissioned over 600-km-long gas distribution grids in 25 Bulgarian cities and towns to serve more than 1,000 end consumers and having obtained 26 gas supply operatorships.

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