Thursday, February 03, 2005
UNDER SAKHALIN-1, GAS TO FLOW TO CHINA, NOT JAPAN
YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, February 3 (RIA Novosti) - The Sakhalin-1 project's Orlan platform will be mounted on the island's northeastern shelf and gas will start being sold to the mainland Khabarovsk territory in September, according to Sergei Bogdanchikov, president of the Rosneft oil company, said Thursday at a press conference in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the administrative center of the Sakhalin region. Beginning in 2006, oil produced on the Sakhalin shelf under this project will be exported from the oil-loading terminal in the port of De Kastri in the Khabarovsk territory. Tankers will deliver gas to consumers. In the future, participants in the international consortium on the Sakhalin-1 project plan to export natural gas supplies to the domestic and external markets. "We are examining a plan to build a pipeline to China via the Khabarovsk territory," Mr. Bogdanchikov said. During the past two years, participants in the consortium have been looking for an opportunity to transport natural gas by an underwater pipeline to Japan. "It has turned out, however, that Japanese energy companies do not intend to buy natural gas produced under this project before 2013," Mr. Bogdanchikov explained. The Sakhalin-1 project's total natural gas reserves are estimated at 485 billion cubic meters. The total cost of the project has been assessed at $12 billion. A 30% stake in the consortium implementing the project belongs to Exxon Neftegaz, a subsidiary of the American oil giant Exxon Mobil. The Japanese company Sakhalin Oil holds a share packet of the same size. Indian company ONGC Videsh owns a 20% stake in the project. Two Russian companies, Sakhalinmorneftegazshelf and RN-Astra, control an 11.5% stake and an 8.5% stake in the Sakhalin-1 project, respectively.
# posted by Deval : 9:20 AM
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