Novatek lifts restrictions on higher dividend payments

MOSCOW, Sep 24 (PRIME) -- Russian independent gas producer Novatek has lifted the guarantees on the debt of its Yamal LNG liquefied natural gas project, which has also abolished restrictions on the share of the net profit that the company may send for dividend payments, Novatek said in a statement on Thursday.

“Novatek is announcing that after fulfillment of all the requirements envisaged by the credit documentation, Novatek’s guarantees to Yamal LNG’s creditors on serving the debt have been lifted,” it said.

“The abolishment of the guarantees will allow Novatek to attract external financing for its new projects at better conditions, and… to lift restrictions on the share of the net profit that can be sent to dividends,” the statement quoted CEO and core owner Leonid Mikhelson as saying.

The Yamal LNG facility with a projected capacity of 17 million tonnes of LNG and over 2 million tonnes of gas condensate annually is based on the Yuzhno-Tambeiskoye field on the northern Yamal Peninsula. Novatek holds 50.1% in the project, France’s Total has 20%, China’s CNPC owns 20% and China’s Silk Road Fund holds 9.9%.

End