Gazprom and GDF SUEZ celebrate cooperative milestone in natural gas sector
RELEASE
Release
A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee and Gerard Mestrallet, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GDF SUEZ took place in Paris as part of the celebrations dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the third and largest-ever Contract for Russian natural gas supply to France.
The meeting participants discussed the status of the bilateral cooperation in the energy sector, highlighting significant progress with joint projects. Special emphasis was placed on the fruitful cooperation within the Nord Stream project.
During the anniversary celebrations Gazprom and GDF SUEZ acted as the exclusive sponsors of The Rite of Spring ballet staged by the Mariinsky Theatre troupe under the direction of Valery Gergiev in the Theatre des Champs Elysees. Attending the opening night were Alexey Miller, Gerard Mestrallet, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to France Alexander Orlov, representatives of the Russian and French business communities as well as arts and culture professionals.
“30 years ago the third long-term contract for Russian gas supply to France was signed. This and other contracts laid a solid foundation for the successful strategic cooperation between Gazprom and GDF SUEZ, which is developing in the atmosphere of mutual respect and confidence. It is pleasant to note that our cooperation is not confined to business projects only and serves as an example of a versatile cultural partnership.
In this anniversary year we decided to jointly support the reconstruction of The Rite of Spring iconic ballet and give the French audience the opportunity to watch first-hand one of the best pieces of Russian arts,” said Alexey Miller.
“GDF SUEZ is proud to sponsor jointly with our partner Gazprom the staging of The Rite of Spring ballet in the Theatre des Champs Elysees on the occasion of its 100th anniversary.
Such joint projects are a wonderful opportunity to develop the cooperation between our companies, as well as to strengthen the ties between our countries,” said Gerard Mestrallet.
Background
The cooperation in the gas supply sector between Gazprom and GDF SUEZ started in September 1975, when the parties signed the first two contracts for gas supplies to the borders of Slovakia and Austria. On October 28, 1983 the third Contract for gas supplies to French consumers was signed as part of the Gas – Pipes project.
Between 1975 and 2012 Gazprom supplied over 330 billion cubic meters of natural gas to France.
In December 2006 Gazprom and GDF SUEZ signed the Agreement to extend the existing contracts for Russian natural gas supply to France until 2030. Moreover, the parties agreed to deliver additional gas volumes to GDF SUEZ via the Nord Stream gas pipeline. At present, GDF SUEZ has contracted the pipeline capacity of 2.5 billion cubic meters per year. In July 2010 GDF SUEZ entered the shareholding structure of Nord Stream AG with a 9 per cent stake.
Gazprom was also given the opportunity of delivering up to 1.5 billion cubic meters of Russian gas per year directly to French end consumers since October 2007.
The Mariinsky Theatre and the Theatre des Champs Elysees (Paris) reached the agreement to jointly celebrate the anniversary 2013 for both theaters. The Theatre des Champs Elysees celebrates its centenary: a premiere of The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky with settings by Nikolai Rerikh and choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky took place there 100 years ago, on May 29 as part of Sergey Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. Today The Rite of Spring is one of the iconic ballet scores of the 20th century.
In 2013 the Mariinsky Theatre opened its 230th theatrical season.