Alexey Borissovitch Miller, Chairman of the Management Board of Gazprom, and Jean-François Cirelli, Chairman and CEO of Gaz de France, met today in Paris to mark the 30th anniversary of the first contracts signed by Gaz de France for the purchase of Russian gas.

Over the past 30 years, Gazprom and Gaz de France have pursued active business cooperation in order to guarantee supplies of natural gas for customers of the Gaz de France group in France and Europe. Gaz de France currently has long-term contracts with Gazprom for 12 billion m3 of gas, making up almost 25% of its long-term supplies.

Building on these excellent relations, Gazprom and Gaz de France have decided to take their cooperation one step further: the Chairmen of the two groups have signed a protocol setting out the main steps to be taken to strengthen and develop this cooperation, along with the main planned areas of study. In particular, Gazprom is beginning work on a North European pipeline running under the Baltic Sea, and the two groups have agreed to continue joint studies with a view to developing supplies of Russian gas to Gaz de France, and increasing security of supply on the European market.

The Chairmen of Gazprom and Gaz de France also discussed the bright prospects for the production and sale of liquefied natural gas, which is becoming increasingly important on the energy market, as well as setting out guidelines for the teams working in this area with a view to developing joint projects.

Over the years, this cooperation between the two companies has been further enriched by the development of partnerships in a number of areas: training, with an exchange of management staff environmental protection, through the improved energy efficiency of industry corporate philanthropy, and the sponsoring of sporting and cultural events.

Marking this 30th anniversary, Gaz de France and Gazprom are naturally sponsoring the exhibition \"Russian Art in the Second Half of the 19th Century: a Quest for Identity\". This exhibition was opened today in Paris at the Musée d'Orsay by Mr Donnedieu de Vabres, France's minister of culture and communication, in the presence of Mrs Bernadette Chirac and Mrs Ludmila Poutine.

Jean-François Cirelli said: \"Today, we are celebrating thirty years of an exemplary partnership with Gazprom, which is a trusted partner for Gaz de France. I am delighted that this cooperation is continuing and that it is expanding to encompass new projects that will contribute to the growth of our two companies on the European market\".

Alexey Borissovitch Miller said: \"We are particularly satisfied with the results of our long cooperation with Gaz de France, and we are aiming to take this partnership further and conduct new projects together\".

Profile of the two groups

. Listed on the Paris stock exchange, the group has been included in the CAC 40 since 1 September 2005.

. Gaz de France is one of Europe's key players in the natural gas industry

. Gaz de France is an integrated company that is strongly positioned over the entire gas chain: exploration - production, purchase and sale of energy, transmission and storage, distribution and services.

In Europe, based on the situation at 31 December 2004, Gaz de France:

. runs the biggest natural gas transmission system, with more than 30,000 km of pipelines in France

. is the second biggest supplier, based on its portfolio of end customers, with around 12.3 million industrial and private customers, of whom some 10.9 million in France

. runs the second biggest distribution system, with some 175,000 km of pipelines, covering 76% of the French population

· is the second biggest operator of regasification terminals, with some 17 billion cubic metres of capacity

· is the second biggest operator of storage infrastructure with a capacity of around 9 billion m3

· is the third biggest buyer of natural gas.

Gaz de France does business in more than 30 countries.

In 2004, Gaz de France reported turnover of €18,129 million, and net profit excluding minorities of €1,046 million, up 15% on 2003. International business accounted for 29% of total turnover.

Gazprom

Gazprom is the world's biggest gas producer. Its gas reserves are evaluated at 28,000 billion m3 (16% of global reserves). Gazprom provides 27% of the gas delivered to the European gas market and more than 70% of the gas delivered to Russia's domestic market. Gazprom produces between 5% and 8% of Russia's GDP, 10% of its foreign currency income and around 20% of its total national budget income.

Gazprom produces around 90% of Russian gas and around 20% of the total global output. It increases production volumes from year to year. In 2004, it produced 545.1 billion m3, an increase of 4.9 billion m3 on 2003. In 2004, Gazprom reported record foreign currency income of US$ 18.3 billion.

Press Contact :

Jérome Chambin - Tel : +331 47 54 24 35 - Fax : +331 47 54 74 42
E-mail : jerome.chambin@gazdefrance.com

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