ISDA®

INTERNATIONAL SWAPS AND DERIVATIVES ASSOCIATION

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release Monday, March 17, 2003

For More Information, Please Contact:

Louise Marshall, ISDA New York, (212) 901-6000 Fax (212) 901-6001 lmarshall@isda.org

ISDA PUBLISHES EUROPEAN GAS ANNEX

NEW YORK, Monday, March 17, 2003 - The International Swaps and Derivatives Association today published the ISDA European Gas Annex. The Annex seeks to tie physical gas transactions under the Notional Balancing Point (NBP) and Zeebrugge Hub Natural Gas Trading Terms and Conditions (ZBT) contracts into Sections 6 & 7 of the Schedule to an ISDA Master Agreement, thus allowing these contracts to be netted out under the netting provisions of the ISDA Master Agreement in an event of default.

The ISDA European Energy and Developing Products Committee worked on this documentation project alongside a group of dealers in the energy industry. ISDA has produced versions compatible with both its 1992 Master Agreement and its 2002 Master Agreement.

ISDA is the global trade association representing leading participants in the privately negotiated derivatives industry. ISDA was chartered in 1985, and today has more than 600 member institutions from 46 countries on six continents. These members include most of the world's major institutions that deal in privately negotiated derivatives, as well as many of the businesses, governmental entities and other end users that rely on over-the-counter derivatives to manage efficiently the financial market risks inherent in their core economic activities. Information about ISDA and its activities is available on the Association's web site: www.isda.org.

^®ISDA is a registered trademark of the International Swaps & Derivatives Association, Inc.

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