Offshore staff

GOA, India -- India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd. and Russia's Gazprom agreed to expand mutual co-operation in the hydrocarbon and power sector. The protocol document was signed Feb. 8, 2007, by R.S. Butola, the managing director of ONGC Videsh Ltd. and A.I. Medvedev, deputy chairman of the board of Gazprom during the second meeting of their Joint Working Group.

The protocol envisages co-operation in exploration and exploitation of oil and gas fields in India, Russia, and third countries, midstream and downstream oil and gas projects in India and Russia, LNG supplies to India, and CNG related projects in India.

The companies reconfirmed their mutual intention to widen the scope of long-term relations between Gazprom and ONGC and agreed to extend the MoU between ONGC and Gazprom for another two years.

Gazprom invited ONGC to participate in eight projects in Russia, including oil and gas projects in Eastern Siberia and the Far East. ONGC, in turn, extended invitation to Gazprom to participate in integrated petrochemical, LNG, and power projects in India. The parties also exchanged views on joint possibilities in the Qatar, Myanmar, Libya, Vietnam, Cuba, and CIS countries.

The agreement on technical and scientific cooperation, exchange of specialists, and staff training is expected to be signed shortly. The next meeting of the Joint Working Group will be held in Russia in July 2007.

2/9/2007