Gazprom Export, a wholly owned Gazprom subsidiary, and the Czech Republic`s Vemex have signed a long-term contract for the supply of up to 500m cubic meters of natural gas per year between 2008 and 2012, the companies announced in a joint press release. According to the document, the agreement can be extended for a further five years. The price of Russian gas to be delivered as part of this deal has not been revealed. Cooperation between the two companies in the area of natural gas trade began in March 2006, when the first contract between Vemex and Gazprom Export was signed stipulating supplies of natural gas to the Czech Republic bypassing the country`s former monopoly RWE. Thus, deliveries to the republic`s gas market were diversified.