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Sakhalin-II

The Sakhalin-2 (Russian: Сахалин-2) project is an oil and gas development in Sakhalin Island, Russia. It includes development of the Piltun-Astokhskoye oil field and the Lunskoye natural gas field offshore Sakhalin Island in the Okhotsk Sea, and associated infrastructure onshore. The project is managed and operated by Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd. (Sakhalin Energy).

Sakhalin-2 includes the first liquefied natural gas plant in Russia. The development is situated in areas previously little touched by human activity, causing various groups to criticize the development activities and the impact they have on the local environment.

The original consortium, was a joint venture between Marathon Oil, McDermott, and Mitsubishi. They won a tender from the Russian Government in 1992. Later that year Royal Dutch Shell joined the joint venture. In 1994 the JV incorporated in Bermuda to form Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd. Sakhalin Energy, led by Marathon, negotiated the first PSA directly with representatives of the Russian government. The Russian Party maintained project planning and budget approval. The initial investment decision was to proceed with the oil field development led by Marathon. McDermott sold its share to the other partners in 1997 and Marathon traded its shares to Shell for an interest in other properties (the BP operated Foinaven field, near the Shetland Islands, and an eight block area in the Gulf of Mexico—including the Ursa field) in 2000.

The decision to proceed with the gas project investment was made in 2003. The expected budget increased dramatically by 2005–2006. The pipeline portion of the gas project was heavily criticized due to environmental issues. Legal proceeding on perceived violation of the Russian environmental regulations were initiated. In the result, The Russian government ordered to terminate the project in September 2006. Under legal and political pressure, the consortium was forced to sell a majority stake to Gazprom. On 21 December, Gazprom took control over a 50%-plus-one-share stake in the project by signing an agreement with Royal Dutch Shell. Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the signing ceremony in Moscow and indicated that environmental issues had been resolved.

The LNG plant was inaugurated on 18 February 2009. The first cargo was loaded to the LNG carrier Grand Aniva at the end of March 2009.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Shell said that it would exit Sakhalin-2 and other ventures in Russia. On 30 June 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree ordering the transfer of the Sakhalin-2 project to a new domestic operator. Foreign investors will be required to apply to retain their existing shares in the new Russian company within a month. The Russian government will then decide whether to allow foreign shareholders to keep their stake. If they are rejected, the government will sell the foreign shareholder’s stake and keep the proceeds in the shareholder’s special account. In April 2023, the Russian government approved the sale of Shell's 27.5% stake to Novatek for RUB 94.8 billion. At the same time, Novatek secured the consent of President Putin so that Shell could withdraw these funds from Russia.

As marine insurance policies come up for renewal, the Japanese government has asked non-life insurance companies to offer war coverage to LNG shippers in Russian waters.

Sakhalin-II has been exempted from sanctions by the UK and US governments until 28 June 2024.

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