Additional natural gas quantities for Europe: Wintershall Erdgas Handelshaus (WIEH) and VNG - Verbundnetz Gas Aktiengesellschaft have now reached an agreement regarding the expansion of their natural gas supply relations. During Neftegaz, the 12th International Trade Fair for the Oil and Gas Industry in Moscow, Dr. Rainer Seele, Managing Director of WIEH and Klaus-Dieter Barbknecht, Member of the Board of VNG Gas Purchasing, have today, 24 June 2008, signed a Declaration of Intent regarding a further long-term natural gas supply contract. Beginning in 2014, VNG plans to procure an additional billion cubic meters of natural gas per annum from WIEH. “With the early extension of our import contracts, we are already making provisions for the future”, said Dr. Klaus-Ewald Holst when the Declaration was signed. The expansion of the contractual relations shows the need for long-term solutions under competitive conditions, emphasized Dr. Rainer Seele. “We can offer both”.

The existing international import contract between the German/Russian joint venture WIEH and VNG covers around 90 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russia for the period 2014 to the end of 2030. With the new agreement, the supply volume increases by a further 17 billion cubic meters for the same period. The new contract between WIEH and VNG shall commence 1 January 2014 and shall end 1 January 2031. “Russia is our most important partner in terms of the supply of natural gas”, stressed the VNG board member Barbknecht. We can already look back on 35 years of always reliable and safe natural gas supplies. In this context, WIEH Managing Director Seele referred to the importance of long-term partnerships with the producers. In direct partnership with Russia, the energy supply can be secured over the long term. WIEH recently signed a Declaration of Intention regarding the early extension of the existing supply contract with with OOO Gazprom export to 35 years and, as a result, secured for its customers a total of more than 500 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russia up to the end of 2043.

WIEH and VNG are represented at this year’s Neftegaz, on the Krasnaja Presnja ”Expocentre“ fair grounds, Moscow, 1. Krasnogwardeiskij Projesd 12. Contact persons from WIEH will be at the WINGAS Stand 21D10 in Hall 2 from 23 to 27 June, 2008. VNG are also exhibiting in Hall 2, on Stand 21-D20.