Novak estimated the timing of the appearance of a new participant in Sakhalin-2

MOSCOW, 14 Oct — PRIME. A new participant in the Sakhalin-2 project, which will replace Shell, will appear before the end of the year, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said.

“The decree was previously issued on Sakhalin-2. They changed the operator to a Russian operator. Previously, there was an operator of Shell, now Gazprom, respectively. They gave the opportunity to all those who previously participated in the shareholders of this project to stay, those who wished. The Japanese wanted it, but Shell did not want it. He refused to participate in the project. There will be a new shareholder, a new shareholder will be determined by the end of the year, for the share that Shell left,” Novak said, speaking at the Russian Energy Week.

He also noted that Russia will continue to work in the format of production sharing agreements. “All the conditions regarding the operation of this enterprise, the conditions that relate to taxation, are fully preserved, those that were based on a production sharing agreement,” Novak added.

Russia, due to unfriendly actions of foreign states, changed the Sakhalin-2 operator (Sakhalin Energy) to a new Russian legal entity in the summer. They became Sakhalin Energy LLC with a 50% stake in Gazprom Sakhalin Holding. Foreign participants in the project had the right to remain in it with the same shares of participation, but in early September only Japanese Mitsui & Co and Mitsubishi Corporation took advantage of it. Anglo-Dutch Shell decided to leave.

According to the presidential decree, the share of the participant leaving the Sakhalin-2 project is subject to sale within 4 months to a Russian legal entity. According to the decree of the Russian government, one of the criteria is that such a person has experience in operating an LNG plant with a capacity of more than 4 million tons per year. Nikolai Shulginov, head of the RF Ministry of Energy, said that the department expects Novatek to participate in the Sakhalin-2 project.

Sakhalin-2 is an oil and gas project that develops two oil and gas fields in the northeast of the Sakhalin shelf – Piltun-Astokhskoye (mainly oil) and Lunskoye (mainly gas). The infrastructure includes three offshore platforms, an integrated onshore processing facility, an oil export terminal and an LNG plant with a design capacity of 9.6 million tons per year.

Russian Energy Week takes place in Moscow on October 12-14. RIA Novosti acts as an information partner of the forum.