OREANDA-NEWS. December 29, 2010. NOVATEK (“NOVATEK” and/or the “Company”) announced today the closing of the transaction to acquire a 51% interest in JSC  Sibneftegas (“Sibneftegas”), by the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, LLC  NOVATEK Severo-Zapad, from JSC  Gazprombank. The acquisition price for the 51% interest amounted to RR 26,883 million.

In accordance with the terms of the share purchase agreement, the Company made an initial payment of RR 4,650 million, with the outstanding balance due by the end of 2011. In conjunction with the acquisition NOVATEK has refinanced 51% of Sibneftegas’ total debt in an amount not exceeding RR 11,040 million.

Sibneftegas holds subsoil exploration and production licenses for the Beregovoye, Pyreinoye, and Zapadno-Zapolyarnoye fields and the Khadyryakhinskiy license area, which are located in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Region. The Beregovoye and Pyreinoye fields are currently engaged in commercial production of natural gas and produced 8.9 billion cubic meters in the first eleven months of 2010. The remaining field and license area are in the early stages of geological exploration.