Russia’s OAO Rosneft has filed a suit against the Gazprom-led Sakhalin Energy consortium to obtain access to the Sakhalin-2 gas pipeline, RIA Novosti reported 7 July.
Rosneft is developing a 5mtpa LNG terminal with ExxonMobil in the Far East that was scheduled to launch 2018. Design work, FEED, and documentation was due to be completed in 2014. However, Reuters reported in April that that Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin informed Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev that Gazprom and partner Shell had denied Rosneft access to the pipeline.
Commissioned in 2009, Sakhalin-2 is Russia’s first commercial natural gas liquefaction project. Oil and gas is produced from the Piltun-Astokhskoye and Lunskoye offshore fields in the north of Sakhalin Island through three platforms in the Sea of Okhotsk. Gazprom says that long-term deals are in place to export 65% of the project’s LNG to Japan, with the remainder allocated to buyers in buyers including South Korea, the US, China, the Philippines, and Thailand. As one of the world’s largest integrated oil and gas projects, Shell said that Sakhalin-2 added 4.5% to the global LNG capacity.
“Gazprom ignores the fact that it is not an equal market participant, but a monopoly, which [in] addition to the advantages of being a monopoly, is subject to obligations to other participants of business activities, including those guaranteed by law,” Rosneft said. “Gazprom, being an infrastructure monopoly, is obliged to guarantee independent producers access to the transport system. We will protect the rights of our citizens by means of negotiations within the framework of corporate procedures, discussions with regulators and if necessary court proceedings.”
Gazprom and Shell are looking at possibilities of expanding the LNG plant, Gazprom announced in May.
Sakhalin Energy is the Sakhalin II project operator. Its shareholders are: Gazprom Sakhalin Holdings BV (50% plus one share); Shell Sakhalin Holdings BV (27.5% minus one share); Mitsui Sakhalin Holdings BV (12.5%); Mitsubishi Corp. subsidiary Diamond Gas Sakhalin BV (10%).
Photo of Sakhalin-2 from Gazprom.
Read more:
Berkut platform begins operations (Sakhalin I)
Sovcomflot, Sakhalin Energy extend cooperation
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