The Gazprom delegation headed by Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Company's Management Committee made a business trip to the French Republic today.

During the trip, Alexey Miller met with Henri Proglio, Chairman and CEO of EDF.

The meeting was focused on the progress with the South Stream project. Alexey Miller and Henri Proglio noted that construction of the gas pipeline with the maximum throughput of 63 billion cubic meters would be launched in December 2012 in strict adherence to the schedule. The parties also reviewed the prospects for cooperation in the power industry.

As part of the business trip, Alexey Miller also met with Christophe de Margerie, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Total. The parties discussed the issues of the Shtokman field Phase 1 pre-development.

Background

France is the third most important EU market for Gazprom after Germany and Italy. In 2011 Gazprom supplied France with 9.53 billion cubic meters of gas.

EDF and Total actively participate in large-scale joint projects implementation together with Gazprom. EDF Group holds a 15 per cent stake in the offshore part of South Stream, Total – 25 per cent in Shtokman.