on "Achievement in Russian Fuel and Energy Complex" Award Contest

In 2001 Russian oil and gas companies achieved considerable progress in enhancing the quality of corporative management, attained noticeable improvement of their image among investors. At the end of the year RusEnergy.com made an attempt to size up the achievements of different companies and to determine the leaders in the course of emergence of a civilized Russian business and its integration into the world economy.

With this aim questionnaires were sent out to the experts in investment companies and banks along with the leading oil and gas media writers with a request to determine winners in each one of the eleven contest nominations. The nominations are as follows: "Project of the Year", "Company of the Year", "Foreign Company of the Year", "Manager of the Year", "Discovery of the Year: Man of the Year in O&G", "Progress at the Stock Market", "Business Development", "Investment Image", "Business Development in CIS" and "Scandal of the Year".

Questionnaire replies served as a basis for determining the leaders of the industry and most remarkable events in it. In December 2001 the RusEnergy.com and MIPC took a decision to conduct "Russian Fuel and Energy Complex" contest annually with winners to be determined by polling independent energy experts.

This contest holds as its goal the enhancement of the corporative culture of the Russian Fuel and Energy Complex, to further cultivate in its practice the world accepted standards of management, principles of relations with minority shareholders and to improve the investment image of Russian energy companies.

The official results of the contest will be announced in Moscow on February 15, 2002 at a special ceremony.