Yukos Reveals Interim Dividend for First 9 Months of 2002

At the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders of the Yukos oil company, which took place by correspondence on December 31, 2002, a decision was taken to pay an interim dividend for the first nine months of 2002 of 12.75 billion roubles (about USD 400 million) or 5.7 roubles (USD 0.18) per ordinary share. According to the oil company's press office, the interim dividend will be paid to Yukos shareholders listed in the shareholder register on November 15, 2002. The dividends will be paid by March 1, 2003.

The press office also announced that holders of American Depository Receipts (ADRs) will be paid the corresponding amount in dollars after the deduction of taxes and payments for depository services. The final sum paid to ADR holders in dollars will depend on the exchange rate of the depository bank used. Each ADR represents 15 Yukos shares. In 1999 Yukos paid dividends worth USD 110 million; in 2000 - USD 300 million; in 2001 - USD 500 million.

The Yukos public limited company was created on April 15, 1993. It includes the Yugansknefegaz and Samaraneftegaz oil extraction enterprises, the Eastern Oil Company, the Siberian Oil and Gas Company, the Angara Petrochemical Company, and a number of oil refineries, sales enterprises, and research institutes. The company's shares are traded on the RTS Stock Exchange, the Moscow Interbank Hard Currency Stock Exchange, and also the Moscow Stock Exchange. In 2003 Yukos intends to increase oil extraction by 18.6% to 83 million tonnes. It plans to refine 30.4 million tonnes of oil in 2003. The majority of the oil to be extracted in 2003 will be exported, which will lead to an increase in foreign supplies of oil by 40.6% to 52.3 million tonnes.

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