NOVATEK reports preliminary operating data for 3Q and 9M' 2014

OAO NOVATEK has reported preliminary production data for the third quarter and nine months 2014.
In the third quarter 2014, NOVATEK’s gross production totaled 15.58 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas and 1,535 thousand tons of liquids (gas condensate and crude oil). Gross natural gas production increased by 1.05 bcm, or by 7.2%, and gross liquids production increased by 392 thousand tons, or by 34.3%, as compared with the corresponding gross production in the third quarter 2013.
In the nine months period ended 30 September 2014, gross production totaled 46.88 bcm of natural gas and 4,299 thousand tons of liquids. Natural gas production increased by 1.07 bcm, or by 2.3%, whereas gross liquids production increased by 773 thousand tons, or by 21.9% as compared with the corresponding gross production in the nine months 2013.
For the reporting periods, natural gas production was affected due to the disposal of the Company’s equity share in Sibneftegas at the end of 2013. Excluding the natural gas produced by Sibneftegas, NOVATEK’s natural gas production increased by 17.9% in the third quarter 2014 and by 12.4% in the nine months 2014 as compared with the respective periods in 2013.
NOVATEK processed 1,702 and 4,518 thousand tons of unstable gas condensate at the Purovsky Processing Plant, which represented a 48.0% and 27.2% increase as compared with the corresponding volumes in the third quarter and nine months 2013, respectively.
In the third quarter 2014, NOVATEK processed 1,185 thousand tons of stable gas condensate at the Ust-Luga Fractionation and Transshipment Complex launched in June 2013, which is 66% higher than in the third quarter 2013. In the nine months 2014, the Company processed 3,226 thousand tons of stable gas condensate at the Ust-Luga Complex. Preliminary third quarter 2014 product sales volumes aggregated approximately 1,025 thousand tons, including 736 thousand tons of naphtha, 98 thousand tons of jet fuel, and 191 thousand tons of heating oil and gasoil.
At 30 September 2014, NOVATEK had 2,591 million cubic meters of natural gas and 552 thousand tons of liquids comprised of stable gas condensate and petroleum products in storage or transit and recognized as inventory.