Tarko-Sale, YNAO, 9 December 2009. OAO NOVATEK (hereinafter “NOVATEK” and/or the “Company”) has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, NOVATEK-Purovsky Gas Condensate Processing Plant (hereinafter the “Purovsky Plant”), has processed ten million tons of de-ethanized gas condensate since commencing operations. The Purovsky Plant’s commercial output of liquid petroleum gas (“LPG”) and stable gas condensate is delivered to consumers in Russia, Europe and the United States, and more recently, the Asian-Pacific Region.
 
In June 2005, the Purovsky Plant’s first stage was commissioned with an initial processing capacity of two million tons of de-ethanized gas condensate per annum, and was the first plant of its kind built in Russia in the last 25 years. Due to the increase in NOVATEK’s overall production capacity, the Company commissioned the Purovsky Plant’s second stage in November 2008 increasing processing capacity to five million tons of de-ethanized gas condensate per annum. The second stage included the construction of a petroleum gas dehydration unit, which significantly increased the quality of LPG produced at the Purovsky Plant and enabled NOVATEK to expand its commercial activities on both the domestic and international LPG markets. 
 
The Purovsky Plant has become a key link in NOVATEK’s hydrocarbon value chain allowing the Company to not only process one hundred percent of its de-ethanized gas condensate production but also to produce higher margin value added products and diversify its commercial markets.

 

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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 Region, which is the world's largest natural gas producing area and accounts for over 90% of Russia's natural gas production and 20% 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 on the Russian Trading System (RTS) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE) under the ticker symbol ‘NVTK’ and on the NASDAQ PORTAL System as Rule 144A GDR under the ticker symbol “NVATY”.