Petrobras and Gazprom signed a memorandum of understanding Friday under which the companies will seek to identify cooperation opportunities for oil & gas project deployment.

Three areas in which the companies have already identified possible cooperation opportunities include LNG, natural gas storage, and natural gas transportation system operation optimization.

Although the activity schedule will extend through next year, Petrobras and Gazprom expect to materialize actual partnerships--particularly in the LNG area, in 2007. Among the topics that meeting participants discussed were potential improvements to the Brazilian gas pipeline implementation processes, incorporating Gazprom's experience in this field.

Petrobras' Gas & Energy Director, Ildo Sauer, and Gazprom's International Business Director, Stanislav Tsygankov, signed the agreement. Petrobras' acting president and also Exploration & Production Director, Guilherme Estrella, and the Russian Federation's General Consul in Rio de Janeiro, Alexey Labetskiy also attended the meeting.

Petrobras and Gazprom have met three times during the past year to discuss possible collaboration opportunities.

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