Russian energy giant Gazprom opened its regional office in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Thursday. “Latin America is a strategically important region for Gazprom in terms of developing the gas business. The discovery of hydrocarbon deposits and growth in natural gas consumption rates in various economic sectors will enable us to develop partnership relations in this region,” said Pavel Oderov, Head of the International Business Department pursuant to a Gazprom order. Gazprom is a member of the Russian oil and gas consortium with Venezuela. It also signed an exploration service contract with Bolivian YPFB and a cooperation agreement with Petrobras covering exploration, production, transportation and sale of hydrocarbons, including LNG. The Gazprom board of directors decided to establish the regional office in Brazil in 2010, which will be led by Shakarbek Osmonov. The office will facilitate Gazprom\'s cooperation with Latin America states and represent and protect the gas giant\'s interests in the region.