Company news in 2004

Information on crude output increase at the Kalchino and North Demiansk deposits making part of the Uvat project last March – by 4,650 tons y-o-y.

A report on a news conference held by Mr. Victor Blagoveschenky, Head of Nyagan Business Unit. He outlined the main steps to have been taken at the first stage.

The Russo-British TNK-BP is going to recover at least 100% of reserves, said Mr. Victor Vekselberg, member of the Board of Directors and Managing Director, Production and Technologies, TNK-BP.

Reports on Tyumenneftegaz OJSC performance in March and 1Q 2004. The total of 176,805 tons of crude oil was lifted in deposits of the Tyumen Region in March, and 513,524 tons from the start of the year.

Verkhnechonskneftegaz OJSC (VCNG) and the City Hall of the Katanga District concluded the cooperation agreement whereby the district''s administration will, in particular, provide support to the corporate mineral user in shaping the infrastructure necessary for the field development, informed a spokesperson in TNK-BP Management OJSC Irkurtsk rep office on April 13.

A lucky businessman, dollar billionaire, according to the U.S. Forbes magazine (his estate is estimated at US$ 3.3 billion), co-owner of TNK-BP, multi-national oil company, and SUAL, aluminum company, Mr. Victor Vekselberg became known country-wide through purchase of Faberge Easter eggs collection for US$ 100 million from the Forbes Family. In doing so, Mr. Vekselberg was not motivated by charity – he is not indifferent to what Westerners thinks of Russia

Information on establishment of the Izhevsk Branch of TNK Business Service and its beginning of operations since April 1, 2004.

The article on operations of oilmen from Udmurtneft OJSC in the Gremikhino field. The newspaper informs that the peculiarity of the Gremikhino field is high crude viscosity.

The plan is to draft a preliminary feasibility study for di-methyl ether works construction by mid-2004, Mr. Alistair Fergusson, Vice President, New Gas Extraction and Sales Project Development, at TNK-BP, told the reporters.

Lisichansk outperforms other towns of the Lugansk Region with similar industrial potential in terms of industrial production growth rate, with LINOS LLC making the greatest contribution to industrial production growth.

TNK-BP Petroleum Company and INTERTECH have signed the agreement to create and implement the single materials reference book and the corporate logistical support classifier (SMRB & CLSC) for TNK-BP.

Buguruslanneft NGDU won the Best Enterprise of the Orenburg Region in Labor Protection contest. The contest was arranged for by departments for labor, for agriculture, by the Federation Council of region''s trade unions, and the regional Union of Industrialists and Businessmen.

TNK-BP and Cambridge Foreign Forum announced the beginning of a scholarship program, TNK-BP Kapitza Cambridge, that enables Russian and Ukrainian nationals to perform R&D at Cambridge University and to get Ph.D. in Engineering, Economics, Management, Law, Mathematics, and Natural Sciences.

Geophisics is a science that became a link in the complex mineral prospecting chain. One cannot do without this link now," Mr. Alexander Gladkov, Managing Director of Orenburgneftegeofizika LLC.

RUSIA Petorleum OJSC (a mineral user of the Kovykta gas and condensate deposit, Irkutsk Region) intends to conclude preliminary gas supply agreements with Chinese National Oil and Gas Corporation (CNPC) and Korean Gas Corporation (Kogaz) in mid-2004, Mr. Alistair Fergusson, Vice President of TNK (the major shareholder in the joint-stock company), said in Irkutsk.

TNK-BP is getting down to commercial development of the Uvat group of deposits, a spokesperson of the company informed. Deposits are operated by TNK-Uvat.

The Annual Shareholders'' Meeting of RUSIA Petroleum OJSC is scheduled for June 4, Mr. Sergey Tulinov, member of the company''s Board of Directors and TNK-BP''s project manager, informed reporters on April 7.

TNK-BP continues to announce plans to independently (without Gazprom) develop the Kovykta gas and condensate deposit.

Information on production performance of Orsknefteorgsintez OJSC in March 2004. Over the last month, the Orsk refinery processed 294,800 tons of crude.

The pattern for Gazprom's joining the Kovykta project is most likely to be determined by July 2004, Mr. Sergey Tulinov, Project Manager of TNK (holds 62.42% in RUSIA Petroleum JSC that owns the license to develop the Kovykta gas and condensate deposit, Irkutsk Region), said.

The interview with TNK-BP''s Executive Director German Khan in which he explains why attention of the new company is focused on regions to such extent

The major shareholder of Verkhnechonsneftegaz OJSC, TNK-BP, will make a decision as to further development of the Verkhnechonsk gas, oil, and condensate deposit in May, Mr. Sergey Tulinov, member of the company''s Board of Directors and TNK-BP''s Project Manager, informed reporters in Irkutsk Wednesday.

The Board of Directors of East Siberian Gas Company (ESGC) made a decision to issue shares worth of RUR 30 million to shape the company''s capital stock, ESGC''s news release goes.

A measure that will help raise investment flow is target finance of the most efficient projects. Presently, TNK-Uvat, a subsidiary of TNK-BP, is getting down to commercial development of the Uvat group deposits, which includes 7 fields with total extracted reserves of 115 million tons of oil as well as 29 perspective regions.

Yesterday, TNK-BP''s managers made a number of statements on business development prospects for RUSIA Petroleum JSC, where the company holds 62.42% of shares.

The first meeting of the Board of Directors of East Siberian Gas Company (ESGC) established by TNK-BP and the regional administration took place in Irkutsk.

Information is about TNK-BP building up its relationships with municipalities on the basis of the single corporate standards but taking into account regional peculiarities.

The articles are devoted to results of a Tyumen visit of the BP''s and TNK-BP''s delegation, which included a meeting with the Tyumen Region Governor Sergey Sobianin on strategic partnership.

The new profit tax calculation lead to net loss reduction for a number of TNK-BP''s subsidiaries in 4Q, according to TNK-BP''s official release.

Information on establishment of the Orenburg Branch of TNK-Vladimir, a non-governmental retirement benefit foundation.

Western Siberia has been righteously considered Russia''s oil stockroom from times immemorial. Yet the southern part of the Tyumen Region could not boast of significant crude output projects until recently.

The interview with Ms. L.V. Berlina, chief geologist of NGDP Udmurtneft Sever.

The unexplored deposit search contract was entered into between the West Siberian Academy and Samotlorneftegaz, a business unit of TNK-BP.

The merger with BP enabled TNK to engage BP''s financial and technological capacities for solving the objective of hard-to-lift crude production, said Mr. Sergey Prozorov, Head of the Department for Fuel and Energy and Mineral Use, Tyumen Region Administration, at a news conference on April 2.

An annual trade-union conference of TNK-Nizhnevartovsk team is held in spring.

The article is devoted to the meeting of Mr. Alexander Belov, Head of Yuzhorenburgneft NGDU, and Mr. Igor Rustamov, Head of Sorochinskneft NGDU, with representatives of Sorochinskneft''s team, which was timed to establishment of a business unit.

Verkhnechonskneftegaz OJSC (Irkutsk Region) will raise US $19 million by placing an additional issue by the end of the year, a news release of TNK-BP''s (the major shareholder of the joint-stock company) Irkutsk rep office announces.

The Russian island of Sakhalin is of the most promising power regions worldwide. It is expected to make up for decrease in crude output in such traditional fuel regions as the U.S. and the Northern Sea in the next few years.

Verkhnechoskneftegaz OJSC (VChNG) Board of Directors approved of the action plan and the company''s 2004 budget in the amount of US$ 7.670 million, the company informed.

In February, the international Consumer Appraisal Institute verified quality of A-95 gasoline sold at chain retail stations in the capital. The inspection yielded rather good quality results at almost all of the inspected stations.

In January/March, a major petroleum product trader, TD TNK-Ukraine, increased its retail network by 2%, or by 22 units, as compared with data as of January 1, 2004, up to 1,046 units, according to the company''s news service.

Information on results of the meeting of the Tyumen Region Governor Sergey Sobianin with BP''s and TNK-BP''s delegation.

TNK-BP intends to be involved in implementing social programs in all regions where it is present as fully as possible, as was announced during the Nizhnevartovsk Management Board field meeting held in Nizhnevartovsk.

Hydrocarbon output will soar 12% in TNK-BP in 2004, according to Dow Jones.

British Petroleum is going to invest US$ 2 million into expansion of TNK-BP''s technological center created on the basis of the Tyumen Scientific Petroleum Center (TNNS), a news service of the regional administration informed based on the results of negotiations of Governor Sergey Sobianin and Mr. Tony Maggs, Vice President of the company.

A trade-union conference of the enterprise''s team is held at TNK-Nizhnevartovsk OJSC each year, in March.

Spring freshet is nearing completion in the Pervomaisk region located in the south of the Orenburg Region.

The interview of Nyagan Mayor Alexander Ryzhenkov, in which he also speaks of TNK-Nyagan OJSC''s operations

A principally new developmental stage comes for Uvat. A project implementation scenario when the investor, TNK-BP, is willing to get down to fields development was found.

Mr. Alexander Mikhailov, Governor of the Kursk Region, and Mr. Alexander Kaplan, Vice President of Tyumen Oil Company, signed the general cooperation agreement on March 31, whereby the latter will supply 86,500 tons of diesel fuel, 36,500 tons of gasoline, and 6,200 tons of oils to agricultural producers of the region during the sowing and harvesting season.