Russ Oil-Gas

04 February 2008 - Upstream OnLine - Russia's Gazprom has confirmed that Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov was the top ranked official running for its board after sources said he was set to become chairman of the company. Gazprom's current chairman, First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, is poised to become Russia's next president after the 2 March election, meaning the top job at Gazprom will become vacant. Zubkov - a former head of Russia's financial intelligence agency - might chair Gazprom after June's shareholder meeting, sources said last week. Today, Gazprom said the state, which controls the company, had nominated Zubkov as well as Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko, chief executive Alexei Miller and Economy Minister Elvira Nabiullina to the 11-seat board. Other state nominees include Khristenko's deputy Andrei Dementiyev, former Property Minister Farit Gazizullin, Russia's energy envoy Igor Yusufov and the deputy head of the property agency, Yuri Medvedev, who is not related to Dmitry Medvedev. Gazprom as a holder of treasury stock has itself nominated the head of Gazprombank Andrei Akimov, deputy chief executives Alexander Ananekov and Mikhail Sereda, and the head of economic department Yelena Karpel. Germany's Ruhrgas, which has a 6% stake in Gazprom, proposed to re-elect its head Burckhard Bergmann to the board. Other candidates include the head of the St Petersburg Stock Exchange Viktor Nikolayev, Micex exchange head Alexander Potyomkin, investor Boris Fyodorov, Bob Foresman from Renaissance Capital, the head of the Russian entrepreneurs lobby Alexander Shokhin and Yevgeny Yasin from the High School of Economy, a Reuters report said. Gazprom's daily operations are run by chief executive Alexei Miller but Medvedev as chairman has approved all major deals signed between Gazprom and Western governments and companies. Gazprom said the new board would be elected at the 27 June annual general meeting. The register to participate in the meeting will close on 8 May.