MOSCOW--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
NOVATEK AND ROSATOM ENTER INTO COOPERATION AGREEMENT
Moscow, 12 November 2012. OAO NOVATEK (“NOVATEK” and/or the “Company”) announced today that the Chairman of NOVATEK’s Management Board, Leonid Mikhelson, and the General Director of the State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM, Sergey Kirienko, have signed a General Cooperation Agreement (hereinafter the “Agreement”) in Moscow.
The Agreement formalizes the Parties intent to develop a mutually beneficial partnership to coordinate the following lines of investment and innovation activities:
- The safe and efficient navigation in Arctic Waters, White and Baltic Seas;
- The coordination of interrelated investment projects; and
- The creation of new technologies and development of competitive products (including import substitution) to raise the efficiency of geological exploration, production, transportation, storage and processing of natural gas and gas condensate.
The Company and ROSATOM have a mutual interest and intent to develop cooperation in organizing continuous and environmentally safe icebreaker support to the vessels navigating through the Northern Sea Route, in particular, to and from the port of Sabetta when transporting construction cargoes and end products of the LNG plant on the Yamal peninsula. The Agreement envisages conclusion of a long-term services contract for icebreaker support through the Northern Sea Route for the period of at least 15 years.
The Chairman of OAO NOVATEK’s Management Board, Leonid Mikhelson noted: “The Company is active in the Arctic Region and has pioneered the transportation of hydrocarbons by tankers through the Arctic Ocean’s Northern Sea Route. We are planning to scale up operations and develop our hydrocarbon fields on the Yamal and Gydan peninsulas and in the Gulf of Ob. A mutually beneficial cooperation with ROSATOM reinforces our confidence in implementing our long-term development plans and underscores our commitment to conducting all of our operation in a sustainable development manner consistent with industry best practices.”
The General Director of ROSATOM State Corporation, Sergei Kirienko said: “One of ROSATOM’s main goals is to develop the Northern Sea Route. That is why we are building a new generation of nuclear-powered icebreakers, guaranteeing reliable operation of this major traffic artery in the long-term period. This is a mutually beneficial agreement – for ROSTATOMflot it is important to have a stable demand for its services and for such companies as NOVATEK, it is essential to be confident that its hydrocarbon production is transported the most effective way”.
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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 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”.