S&P WILL MARK UP THE RATINGS OF "LUKOIL" AND"GAZPROM"

A&G Information Services, December, 2002

A&G Information Services 12-16-2002 S&P WILL MARK UP THE RATINGS OF "LUKOIL" AND"GAZPROM" ST.PETERSBURG, RUSSIA, DEC 16, 2002 (A&G News via COMTEX) -- Theinternational agency Standard & Poor's revisedthe ratings of OAO "Gazprom" from stable topositive, taking into consideration improvementin the economic and tax climate of Russia.

Thelong-term credit rating of the Russian gasmonopolist was confirmed at the level "B ". Thelong-term rating of "LUKOIL" was increased from"B " to "BB-". URL: http://www.aginform.com Copyright 2002 A&G Information Services (via Comtex). All rights reserved