NOVATEK, Gazprom Neft JV acquires 51% of Sever Energia for $1.8 bln
MOSCOW. Nov 30 (Interfax) - The joint venture formed by NOVATEK and Gazprom Neft - LLC Yamal Development - wrapped up the acquisition of 51% of LLC Sever Energia charter capital for 56.3 billion rubles ($1.8 billion) on Tuesday, statements from the JV's founders say.
That price tag includes debts and the value of demand rights on Sever Energia under a shareholder loan agreement with Gazprom.
Yamal Development was set up on a 50/50 basis, so its founders' stakes in Sever Energia are each 25.5%. NOVATEK and Gazprom Neft spent proportionate amounts in the deal.
The remaining 49% of Sever Energia charter capital belongs to the company Arctic Russia B.V. - a joint venture owned by the Italian energy companies ENI (60%) and Enel (40%).
NOVATEK said the joint development of Sever Energia's deposits, which are characterized by the presence of complex strata of gas, gas condensate, and oil rims, will make it possible to join NOVATEK's many years of experience with that of its partners in a project aimed at optimizing the development of those resources and their rational usage.
Gazprom Neft chief Alexander Dyukov, who was cited in his company's statement, said, "Developing deposits in northern Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District will be a new growth-point for Gazprom Neft, and make a substantial contribution to the implementation of the company's long-term growth strategy. Working at the Sever Energia deposits will help provide synergy with other Gazprom Neft projects in the region - Novoportovskoye and Messoyakhskoye."
Sever Energia includes former Yukos producers Arcticgas, Urengoil and Neftegaztekhnologia. SeverEnergia's ABC1+C2 resource totals 568 million tonnes of oil, 155 million tonnes of condensate and 1.26 trillion cubic meters of gas. It holds the licenses to the Samburgskoye, Yevo- Yakhinskoye, Yaro-Yakhinskoye and Severo-Chaselskoye fields. Production at the Samburgskoye field is slated to commence in 2011. For deposit-development to be effective, Sever Energia has to have the capacity to stabilize condensate, which currently only NOVATEK has in the region.