Arnhem, 14 December 2007

Essent Trading has appointed Mr. Etibar Akhundov as Senior Advisor for the Caspian Region and Turkey. Mr. Akhundov is based in Baku, Azerbaijan. He is Essent's first regional advisor in the Caspian Region and Turkey and his focus will be sourcing natural gas in the Caspian region which fits Essent's European gas portfolio. In addition, Etibar Akhundov will also concentrate his attention on capturing corresponding transportation capacity from the area to Europe.

The appointment of the Caspian region and Turkey advisor is an important step in diversification of Essent's gas supply portfolio and therefore a new phase in the execution of Essent Trading's Merchant Strategy which also includes building new gas supply corridors.

The Caspian region (Azerbaijan and in the future Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan) has a tremendous potential to become one of the key gas supply regions for Europe. A more diverse mix of suppliers will result in a further diverse and secure gas supply for the end users in the European countries.