NOVATEK and Silk Road Fund conclude framework agreement on acquisition of stake in Yamal LNG
Today, in the presence of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and the President of People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping, OAO NOVATEK (“NOVATEK”) and China’s Silk Road Fund (“SRF”) concluded a framework agreement on the acquisition by SRF of a 9.9% equity stake in the Yamal LNG project (“Project”). NOVATEK says.
According to the agreement, the transaction is scheduled to close after the satisfaction of stipulated conditions precedent, including the receipt of all necessary approvals. Following the completion of the deal, the shareholder structure of OAO “Yamal LNG” will be as follows: OAO NOVATEK (50.1%), Total S.A. (20%), CNPC (20%) and SRF (9.9%).
President of SRF, Wang Yanzhi stated “We consider Yamal LNG to be one of the most prospective and competitive LNG projects in the world. Such observation supports our interest in becoming its shareholder. We hope our entrance into the Project will facilitate an expedited closing of the Project’s general external financing, as well as contribute to further development of the Chinese-Russian cooperation in the energy sector”.
Chairman of the Management Board of NOVATEK, Leonid V. Mikhelson stated “We welcome SRF’s entrance into the Yamal LNG project as another step forward in the mutually beneficial cooperation with our Chinese partners in the development of gas projects in the Russian arctic region”.
Yamal LNG project envisages the construction of an LNG plant with annual capacity of 16.5 million tons per annum based on the feedstock resources of the South-Tambeyskoye field. According to the PRMS reserve standards, the proven and probable reserves of the South-Tambeyskoye field as of 31 December 2014 were appraised at 926 billion cubic meters of natural gas. The Project is currently at the active construction stage.
Silk Road Fund is a $40 billion medium to long term investment fund established in Beijing in December 2014. It makes outbound investment through both equity and debt financing. The fund focuses on infrastructure, energy, industrialization and financial cooperation that are vital to the connectivity of the Chinese economy with the rest of the world.
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 80% of Russia’s gas production and approximately 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 in Russia on Moscow Exchange (MOEX) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE) under the ticker symbol «NVTK».
