Bratislava – OMV (Austria) and Transpetrol (Slovakia), 49% owned by YUKOS Oil Company, today signed a shareholder agreement to create a joint venture for the construction and operation of a new crude oil pipeline between Bratislava and OMV’s Schwechat refinery in Austria.

Construction of the 60-km long pipeline, which will have a total capacity of around 3.6 million metric tons per year, will begin before the end of 2004. The estimated investment in the project amounts to EUR 28 million.

In addition, a 10-year supply contract for 2 million metric tons of crude oil per year was signed.

“Signing the contracts today is evidence of the deep trust shown by our partners toward YUKOS as a stable and reliable supplier of Russian crude oil to the European market,” said President of YUKOS RM and Managing Board Member of YUKOS Moscow Mikhail Brudno.

Gerhard Roiss, OMV Deputy CEO responsible for Refining & Marketing, emphasized the strategic importance of this project for the group: “Thanks to this contract, we will be able to directly supply our Schwechat refinery with Russian oil, in addition to the Adria-Vienna Pipeline. This supply diversification will also generate cost benefits with respect to both products and logistics.”

Štefan Czucz, the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Transpetrol, said in connection with the project: “The project of building the oil pipeline connecting Bratislava and Schwechat has been on the minds of experts for nearly 13 years. I am very happy that today there are no barriers at all to its realization and that it will be Transpetrol that will join such two big and renowned energy firms as Yukos and OMV.“

Deliveries will begin by January 2006, with annual volumes of about 20% of the capacity of the Schwechat refinery. Through construction of additional pumping stations, the capacity of the pipeline can be increased to 5 million metric tons per year.

Prices for the crude oil will be in line with existing oil supply contracts between YUKOS and refineries in the region.

A Memorandum of Understanding regarding the construction of the new pipeline and respective crude oil deliveries under a long-term agreement was signed by YUKOS and OMV in August.