LONDON, July 22 /PRNewswire/ --

- World's Largest Gas Company Using Ventyx Market Analytics Software and
Advisory Services to Guide Investment and Operations

Ventyx(TM), the world's largest private software provider to the energy
and utility industry, today announced a new contract with Gazprom Marketing &
Trading, a subsidiary of the world's largest gas company, for market
analytics software and advisory services to help the company continue its
growth in Europe.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080318/CLTU015LOGO )

Gazprom possesses the world's largest natural gas reserves, as well as
the world's largest gas transmission system through which the company exports
gas to 32 countries. Gazprom has reliably supplied gas to Europe for 40
years. The company is also building its activities in commodities beyond
natural gas, by developing its power generation, LNG and carbon trading
capabilities. As a major supplier of fuel to the power generation sector,
Gazprom is actively investing and expanding its partnerships in this sector.

In order to help the company achieve its goals, Gazprom signed a contract
with Ventyx to acquire multiple licenses for its industry-leading Market
Analytics software (http://www1.ventyx.com/analytics/market-analytics.asp).
The Ventyx Market Analytics software provides a total solution for
fundamental market modelling, transmission and generation analysis and
forecasts of prices for energy, ancillary services and capacity markets
around the world. The software is supplemented by Ventyx's unique
simulation-ready databases which contain Ventyx's latest 25-year European
energy market outlook, at power station unit-level detail. With Market
Analytics, Gazprom can better interpret the key drivers (e.g., deregulation
and liberalisation impacts, energy policy, environmental legislation,
capacity expansion plans, etc.) that shape the markets into which it wishes
to diversify, and also perform fast sensitivity and stochastic analysis.

The Gazprom contract complements the company's software licenses with
extensive Energy Advisory services. Through these services Ventyx combines
leading solutions and the most experienced team of professionals in the
industry to help clients improve their operational and financial performance.
Among the components included in the advisory services is Ventyx's European
Reference Case, which provides a detailed energy market outlook for the next
25 years. Ventyx's reference cases, which are updated on a semiannual basis,
contain Ventyx's independently formed, detailed price forecasts for key
European energy markets, including wholesale electricity, carbon, natural
gas, fuel oil, coal and, for the UK market, a renewable obligation
certificate (ROC) price forecast. The reports give Ventyx's latest views on
key market issues, market restructuring, new plant entry and retirements,
transmission interconnections and emissions. Ventyx's reference cases are a
standard of the industry used by ratings agencies, utility regulators, market
competition commissions, energy companies, utilities and their investors as a
source of independent, transparent, consistent analysis of changing energy
market fundamentals, wholesale expected prices and how they are formed.

"We have expressed an interest in the power generation sector in Europe,
and this technology will assist us in our market analysis," said Vitaly
Vasiliev, CEO of Gazprom Marketing & Trading. "Our goal is to trade in a
variety of energy commodities and to get close to the downstream customer,
which is consistent with Gazprom's aim of becoming a leading global energy
player. The software will help us to analyse market opportunities which may
help to achieve our business objectives," he added.

"This contract with Gazprom further proves that the world's leading
energy companies trust Ventyx to help them optimise their operational and
financial performance with our innovative applications of technology backed
by the industry's deepest domain expertise," said Ventyx President and CEO
Vince Burkett. "Ventyx holds the largest market share of energy analytics
solutions users worldwide, and we continue to grow our leadership as we
partner with companies such as Gazprom to grow theirs."

About Gazprom

Gazprom is the world's largest gas company basically focused on
geological exploration, production, transmission, storage, processing and
marketing of gas and other hydrocarbons. The state owns a 50.002 per cent
controlling stake in Gazprom. Gazprom's mission is to provide effective and
well-balanced gas supply to Russian customers and to safely implement
long-term gas export contracts. Its strategy is to acquire the leading
position among the global energy companies by entering new markets,
diversifying core business activities and ensuring reliable supplies. For
more information visit http://www.gazprom.com/

About Ventyx

Ventyx is a leading business solutions provider, delivering asset
management, mobile workforce management, customer care, energy trading and
risk management, energy operations, and energy analytics solutions and
advisory services to more than 900 energy, utility and communications
customers, as well as to asset-intensive customers in selected commercial
markets. With approximately 1,200 employees in more than 20 locations
worldwide, Ventyx delivers best-of-breed business solutions that maximize
operational and financial performance, backed by the industry's deepest
available industry-specific domain expertise. For more information, visit our
Website at www.ventyx.com

Ventyx is a trademark of Ventyx Inc. Other company and product names may
be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.

Web site: http://www.ventyx.com
              http://www.gazprom.com