OREANDA-NEWS. October 5, 2012. NOVATEK (“NOVATEK” or the “Company”), announced today the conclusion of new mid-term natural gas supply contracts with JSC Severstal and JSC Severstal-metiz. The natural gas supply contracts have been signed for a period of five years effective 1 January 2013, with the total volume of natural gas supplied over this period estimated at approximately 12 billion cubic meters.

According to the gas supply contracts, NOVATEK will commence delivering natural gas to Cherepovets Steel Mill, JSC Severstal-metiz (Cherepovets) and Severstal SMC (Kolpino).

The Chairman of NOVATEK’s Management Board Leonid Mikhelson noted: “The conclusion of these gas supply contracts is another step in the implementation of the Company’s commercial strategy, providing for the increase in the proportional share of end-customers in our total sales mix. Severstal is a reliable gas consumer and we are happy to establish partnership between our companies”.

The Chief Executive of the Severstal Russian Steel division Alexander Grubman commented: “This contract supports Severstal’s strategy to diversify supplies in order to strengthen the company’s financial stability”.

JSC NOVATEK is Russia’s largest independent gas producer and the second-largest natural gas producer in Russia. Founded in 1994, the Company is engaged in the exploration, production, processing and marketing of natural gas and liquid hydrocarbons. The Company’s upstream activities are concentrated in the prolific Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Region, which is the world’s largest natural gas producing area and accounts for approximately 84% of Russia’s natural gas production and approximately 17% of the world’s gas production. NOVATEK is an open joint stock company established under the laws of the Russian Federation. The Company’s shares are listed in Russia on MICEX-RTS Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange (LSE) under the ticker symbol “NVTK”.