Gazprom for vouchers. Fifteen percent of the stock was allocated to Gazprom employees. The state retained 40% of the shares. That amount was gradually lowered to thirty-eight percent. Trading of Gazprom's shares was heavily regulated. Foreigners were prohibited from owning more than nine-percent of the shares. In October 1996, 1% of Gazprom's equity was offered for sale to foreigners as Global Depository Receipts. In 1997, Gazprom offered a bond issue of US$2.5 billion. Chernomyrdin, as Prime Minister of Russia, ensured Gazprom avoided tight state regulation. Gazprom evaded taxes, and the Government of Russia received little in dividends. Gazprom managers and board
Gazprom Neft limestone, which makes drilling difficult. Therefore, specialists are facing a more labor-intensive task. At the moment all these difficulties have been successfully overcome. Three development wells have now been constructed, successfully tested and their outputs have exceeded planned expectations. New innovative technologies are applied at Badra. Among them are: Solar panels can be another example of the usage of modern technologies. They allow the block valve station to work independently from electricity. The Badra oil field development consortium annually invests in education, medicine and other social projects in Iraq. In 2013 Gazprom Neft donated some buses to the University in