LUKOIL SIGNED AGREEMENT WITH UNOPS

Friday, December 1, 2000

Vagit Alekperov, LUKOIL President, and Reinhart Helmke, Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), signed a framework cooperation agreement.

In accordance with this agreement, LUKOIL and UNOPS will cooperate in a number of UN mandate areas including social investment and environmental clean-up in post-conflict societies. LUKOIL and UNOPS will also interact in supporting education and culture, health, small and medium enterprise development not only in Russia and CIS but in other countries.

This agreement was signed to follow up on the arrangements reached at the first meeting of the UNOPS Advisory Business Council, which took place in New York on October 23, 2000. Leaders of major international companies from 15 countries of the world participated in the meeting. LUKOIL President Vagit Alekperov was invited to join the Council as a representative of Russia. "We rate the beginning of our cooperation with the United Nations Organization as another evidence of increasing role of Russian companies in the international environment," said LUKOIL President Vagit Alekperov.

According to UNOPS Executive Director Reinhart Helmke, the Parties to the agreement informed the government of the Russian Federation on the subject of this agreement and received its political support.