Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Management Committee, Gazprom and Kurt Bock, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, BASF signed in Ludwigshafen (Germany) today a Framework Agreement specifying the terms and conditions of a potential asset swap deal.

The Agreement provides for the possibility that Gazprom and Wintershall jointly develop two blocks of the Achimov deposits in the Urengoy field and that Gazprom receives equivalent stakes in Wintershall's oil and gas exploration and production projects in the North Sea.

The document stipulates that at the initial cooperation stage Wintershall will receive 25 per cent plus one share in the development project for two blocks of the Achimov deposits.

In exchange, Gazprom is supposed to receive a 50 per cent stake in the oil and gas projects implemented by Wintershall in the North Sea.

“The constructive partnership of Gazprom and Wintershall enables us to cope with sophisticated and challenging projects. We are ready to expand production operations jointly with Wintershall in the Achimov deposits of the Urengoy field and to cooperate with the company on a mutually beneficial basis on exploration and production projects in the southern part of the North Sea where Wintershall has been successfully operating for several decades,” said Alexey Miller.

“Joint development of the Achimov deposits by Gazprom and BASF/Wintershall exemplifies well enough a long-lasting model of our joint work: cooperation in a spirit of partnership across the value chain. The decision to expand joint production operations is an important step forward in our partnership with Gazprom, which has been lasting for over 20 years,” noted Kurt Bock.