Japanese authorities asked Sodeco to keep participation in Sakhalin-1

The Japanese government wants to keep its participation in Sakhalin-1 and has submitted a corresponding request to the Sodeco consortium, which owns 30% of the project. This was announced by the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan Yasutoshi Nishimura. Also participating in the project, Itochu believes that Japan will not survive without Russian oil and gas.

Mr. Nishimura at a press conference in Tokyo said that Japan had studied the details of the decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the transfer of Sakhalin-1 to Russian jurisdiction. “We confirmed our intention to keep our participation in the Sakhalin-1 project. In this regard, I held a meeting with the management of Sodeco and conveyed to him a request to consider this issue in a positive way,” he said (quoted by RIA Novosti).

The head of the Japanese company Itochu (part of Sodeco), Masahiro Okafuji said that Japan, unlike Europe or the US, depends on foreign energy supplies. “We will not survive if we do not continue to import from Russia, even if the volumes are smaller,” Mr. Okafuji explained in an interview. Financial Times.

President of the Russian Federation October 7 signed decree on the creation of the Sakhalin-1 operator. In addition to Sodeco, shares in the project are owned by ExxonMobil (30%) and the Indian ONGC (20%). All foreign project participants within a month must confirm their consent to take ownership of a proportional share in the new operator. Japanese authorities spokethat Sakhalin-1 and Sakhalin-2 are important for the country’s energy security.

On the development of the situation – in the publication “Kommersant” “There are no comrades at the risk and risk”.

Laura Keffer