RusEnergy

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, February 27 (RIA Novosti, Pyotr Tsyrendorzhiyev) - Industrial oil production of the Sakhalin I project totaled 345,000 metric tons since October 2005, the Exxon Neftegas Limited press service said Monday. "The current oil output is about 6,000 [metric] tons per day [44,000 bbl/d]," a company spokesman said. "We are planning to begin oil shipments from a terminal in De-Kastri (the Khabarovsk Territory) later this summer." The Sakhalin I consortium has also supplied 158 million cubic meters of gas to consumers in Russia's Far East. The monthly gas supply capacity of the project is currently 74 million cu m and could be increased to 118 million cu m by the end of the year, depending on seasonal demand, the development of infrastructure in the region and the completion of the remaining phases of the project. The Sakhalin I project, the largest foreign direct investment project in Russia, is an international consortium comprised of operator Exxon Neftegaz (30%), Russia's Rosneft (20%), India's ONGC (20%), and Japan's SODECO (30%), to develop the Arkutun-Dagi, Odoptu, and Chaivo deposits on the island's northeastern shelf. Their recoverable reserves are estimated at 2.3 billion barrels of oil and 17.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. By the end of 2006, the consortium plans to begin operating an onshore oil facility at the Chaivo field to increase shipping capacity to 33,000 tons/day (242,000 bbl/d).