Japan's Economy Minister Welcomes Decision Of Consortium To Stay In Russia's Sakhalin-1

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th November, 2022) Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Friday that he welcomed the decision of shareholders of the Sakhalin Oil and Gas Development Co (SODECO) to continue participating in Russia's Sakhalin-1 project.

Earlier in the day, SODECO shareholders unanimously decided to further participate in the project at an extraordinary meeting. The consortium is expected to notify the Russian operator of its decision by November 11.

"While Japan is reliant on the middle East for over 90 percent of its crude oil imports, Sakhalin 1 is an extremely important project as an alternative source outside the Middle East," Nishimura was quoted as saying by Japanese news agency Kyodo.

The Japanese government owns 50% of SODECO, which, in turn, held a 30% stake in the Sakhalin-1 project.

Other shareholders of the consortium are Itochu, Japan Petroleum Exploration (JAPEX), Marubeni and INPEX Corporation.

In early October, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to appoint a new operator to the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project to replace ExxonMobil's subsidiary, Exxon Neftegas Limited, which was the operator of the project and owned 30% of its shares.

On October 14, a new operator was officially registered in Russia. Foreign stakeholders of the project, including SODECO and India's ONGC with 30% of the shares, are required to inform a new operator whether they would continue to participate in the project in the course of a month.