OAO Novatek (NVTK), Russia’s second- largest natural-gas producer, plans to raise spending about 60 percent this year as it boosts output.

Capital expenditures will rise to about 50 billion rubles ($1.7 billion) from 31 billion rubles last year, Chief Financial Officer Mark Gyetvay said today on a conference call. Novatek estimates gas output growth of 6 percent to 7 percent this year.

The spending plan doesn’t include work on Novatek’s Yamal LNG project in the Arctic, where a final investment decision with partner Total SA may be made this year, or joint ventures, such as the SeverEnergia project with Eni SpA (ENI), Enel SpA (ENEL) and OAO Gazprom (GAZP) Neft, Gyetvay said.

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