The Gazprom Headquarters hosted today a working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Company’s Management Committee and Kairgeldy Kabyldin, President of the KazMunaiGaz National Company.

The meeting discussed operation of the Russian-Kazakhstan joint venture KazRosGaz.

Special attention was paid to the status of the Agreement on the major principles for the creation and operation of the joint venture based on the Orenburg GPP.

The parties also discussed the issues relevant to joint gas supplies, the Central Asia – Center gas trunkline system expansion and the Imashevskoye gas and condensate field development.

Based on the meeting results the parties underscored the constructive nature of the cooperation between Gazprom and the KazMunaiGaz National Company and expressed their hope for further enhancement of the bilateral relations.

Background:

In June 2002 Gazprom and the KazMunaiGaz National Company established on a parity basis and registered in the Republic of Kazakhstan, the KazRosGaz joint venture to deal with natural gas purchase, marketing and processing (at gas treatment plants in Russia), and other businesses.

In September 2006 the Gazprom Board of Directors approved setting up on a par with KazMunaiGaz a Russian-Kazakhstan joint venture based on the processing capacities of the Orenburg Gas Processing Plant (GPP). The core business activity of the joint venture will be rendering services related to the processing of hydrocarbon resources from the Orenburg Oblast and the Karachaganak field on a processing fee basis.

Karachaganak Petroleum Operating B.V. is an operating company of the Karachaganak field. KazRosGaz will purchase hydrocarbon resources from Karachaganak Petroleum Operating B.V. and transport the resources for processing by the joint venture. Afterwards the bulk of processed resources will be channeled to the Kazakh market, and the rest to be sold under export arrangements.