Updated June 11, 2008

   Gazprom is holding talks with stockholders of some gas sale companies in the USA

about their controlling stock interests purchase.

The same way the monopoly tries to penetrate into Great Br itain retail gas market that has been carefully protected from it. At the moment Gazprom managed to take 1,5% only, but within 6 years its gas supplies to this country grew from 2% to 8% on the whole.

Experts mark that the same tactic in the USA in terms of the opposition on the country authorities' part is justified, but it does not allow reckoning on a serious market share.

   Director general of the British Gazprom subsidiary Gazrom Marketing & Trading (GMT) Vitaly Vasilev told the company was studying the possibility of a first purchase in the USA within the strategy framework

of North America market entering.

"We can create projects from scratch via partnership, or engage in purchases. Gazprom management takes final decision by year end", explained Mr. Vasilev.

   Gazprom representative Sergey Kupriyanov confirmed that the monopoly "shops around for stakes in sale companies". However, no agreements had been reached yet.

American GMT subsidiary –

GMT USA, established in Texas in 2006 – holds talks. It is not the first Gazprom try to enter the US market. In 2005 Gazprom supplied several LNG (liquefied natural gas) tankers to the USA. In 2006 the monopoly was going to exchange a stake in Sh tokman field for stakes in regasification terminals in the USA and Canada. And then Gazprom was holding talks about stake purchase in the Canadian Sempra.

But later the monopoly declared it would admit foreigners to Shtokman if paid and would purchase stakes in terminal by itself. In Gazprom could not specify whether talks with Sempra continue.

Gazprom head Aleksey Miller said recently the company wanted to take part in Conocophillips gas pipeline construction from Alaska.

   "We are trying to create an opportunity for Gazprom to enter the market by the most favorable way to recover losses the company had due to sales abroad or intermediaries", said in the interview Mr.

Vasilev, whose experience of Gazprom promotion to the foreign markets can be called as successful. Top-manager headed GMT in 2002, when Gazprom stake at Great Britain market was just 2%. Now this index exceeds 8% in a wholesale segment, and already attains 1,5% in retail – on the background the country authorities do not want to accept Gazprom.

   The USA meets Gazprom without enthusiasm, as experts suppose. "Scale energy cooperation between Russia and the USA did not develop", explains Valery Nesterov from Troika Dialog.

"The country authorities hinder the foreign companies that can not be trusted from political point of view to enter its market". East European Gas Analysis director Mickhail Korchemkin consents with him. "Gas monopoly investments in Europe and America remind a satisfaction of political ambitions and a way to influence the world fuel prices", an expert marks.

According to his opinion, Gazprom is trying to purc hase a sale company, as it

has not managed to take part in regasification terminal.