OREANDA-NEWS. November 27, 2012. JSC NOVATEK (“NOVATEK” and/or the “Company”) today held a Board of Directors meeting which unanimously approved the acquisition of a 49% equity stake in ZAO “Nortgas”.

All of the necessary corporate approvals have been received to effectively close the deal, as well as receiving the tentative agreement from the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation approving the transaction and Gazprom’s waiver of its pre-emptive rights to acquire the stake.

ZAO Nortgas holds the hydrocarbon production license for the Severo-Urengoyskoye field, located in the Nadym-Pur-Taz and Purovskiy regions of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District.

According to international petroleum firm DeGolyer & MacNaughton, the PRMS proved reserves of Nortgas as of 31 December 2011 were appraised at 1.7 billion barrels of oil equivalent. During the first nine months 2012, the Severo-Urengoskoye field produced 3.1 billion cubic meters of natural gas and 320 thousand tons of de-ethanized gas condensate.

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”.