OREANDA-NEWS. June 29, 2011. Herman Gref, Chairman of the Management Board of JSC  Sberbank Rossii (OJSC Savings Bank (Sberbank) of Russia), and Igor Makarov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ITERA Oil and Gas Company, signed a Memorandum of Understanding within the frameworks of St. Petersburg’s International Economic Forum in St.-Petersburg on June 17.

According to the MOU, the largest bank of Russia reconfirmed its intention to offer ITERA additional financing for it to purchase core assets. The parties also agreed to consider a possibility of selling Sberbank a shareholding in ITERA Oil and Gas Company. It may be as large as 5 per cent of the Company’s authorized capital.  Moreover, the MOU determined terms and conditions for Sberbank's involvement as a key finance consultant in the Company’s investment transactions and organizing the Company’s deals in the Russian and international capital markets.

"This Memorandum will help our companies strengthen and develop strategic cooperation in future on mutually beneficial terms, implement long-term plans, assist each other in all business activities, and generally assist the development of the gas industry of the Russian economy", - Mr. Gref stated after the Memorandum has been signed.

"We view Sberbank as a strategic partner. Access to resources of Sberbank will let ITERA improve efficiency and its position in the gas market. Our Company is fit as a flea and is ready for aggressive development”, - Igor Makarov said.

ITERA Oil and Gas Company. LLC is one of the larger independent producers and sellers of natural gas in the Russian Federation. It has been developing its own production of natural gas in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District since 1998. The Company has invested over USD  2 billion in development of the gas production industry. ITERA was the first private company to commission gas fields in the North of Russia. The total of over 235 billion cu m of natural gas has been produced in the fields developed by ITERA.