OMV and Transpetrol Sign Contract for Construction of a New Crude Oil Pipeline

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.