OREANDA-NEWS. October 31, 2011. NOVATEK (“NOVATEK” and/or the “Company”) announced today that the President of OAO Russian Railways (RZD) Vladimir Yakunin and the Chairman of the Management Board of NOVATEK, Leonid Mikhelson, held a working meeting to discuss  further cooperation between the two companies and signed a Cooperation Protocol (the “Protocol”) aimed at strengthening the partnership. The Protocol coincides with the planned expansion of NOVATEK’s Purovsky Plant and the increase in the volume of products to be transported via the RZD railway system. According to the Protocol, the two companies will work together to ensure that sufficient infrastructure and railway capacity are available to provide guaranteed transportation for the Company’s products.

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 over 83% of Russia's natural gas production and 16% 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), MICEX Stock Exchange 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”.