RusEnergy

MOSCOW, August 13 (RIA Novosti) - Novatek [RTS: NVTK] said Wednesday its net profit calculated to International Financial Reporting Standards grew 70%, year on year, in January-June 2008 to 14.56 billion rubles ($603 million). Russia's largest independent natural gas producer said its revenues in the reporting period grew 39% to 42.23 billion rubles ($1.7 billion). Established in 1994, Novatek's operations include the prospecting, production and refining of gas and liquid hydrocarbons. Its gas fields are located in the Yamal-Nenets autonomous area in Western Siberia, which has the world's largest natural gas reserves. The region accounts for over 90% of Russian natural gas output and around 20% of global gas production.