OREANDA-NEWS. OAO NOVATEK (“NOVATEK” and/or the “Company”) announced the launch of the first stage of the Gas Condensate Fractionation and Transshipment Complex (“the Ust-Luga Complex”) located at the port of Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea. The inaugural tanker carrying 80 thousand tons of naphtha was shipped to Braskem, a Brazilian company.

The first stage of the Ust-Luga Complex includes a stable gas condensate fractionation unit with nameplate capacity of three (3) million tons per annum, 520 thousand cubic meters of storage facilities for feedstock and products, a deep-water berth equipped with loading arms capable of loading tankers up to 120 thousand deadweight tons, administrative buildings and living quarters, engineering systems and networks, and sewage treatment facilities.

The second stage of the Ust-Luga Complex, which is currently under construction, includes another stable gas condensate fractionation unit with a nameplate capacity of three (3) million tons. The second stage is expected to be completed during the fourth quarter 2013.

According to NOVATEK's Chairman of the Management Board, Leonid V. Mikhelson, “We have successfully launched the first stage of one of our main strategic projects. The Ust-Luga Complex allows us to expand our vertically integrated chain and our customer base, as well as to increase sales of higher value added products across diverse markets”.

The Ust-Luga Complex processes stable gas condensate into petroleum products: light and heavy naphtha, jet fuel, diesel fuel and heating/ship fuel, as well as to ship petroleum products and gas condensate to international markets.

The state-of-the-art equipment has been installed at the Complex ensuring maximum automation of technological processes, as well as providing the highest level of industrial and environmental safety. Another unique feature of the Complex is its location on an artificially in-filled land, which required the most compact layout of production facilities.

OAO 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 90% 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".