Japan has retained its stake in the Sakhalin 1 oil and gas project in eastern Russia, with a Japanese company receiving a 30 percent stake in a new Russian operator, Tass news agency reported Monday.
The report, which cited the Russian government, comes as resource-poor Japan has sought to keep its stake in the project to retain a vital source of energy while joining Western countries in imposing sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
Russia has already authorized investments by Japanese trading houses Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi Corp. in Sakhalin 2, a similar energy project on the island of Sakhalin, north of Japan.
Japan's government and companies, including major trading houses Itochu Corp. and Marubeni Corp., have invested in Sakhalin 1 through Sakhalin Oil and Gas Development Co. The Tokyo-based company held a 30 percent stake in the project.
Sakhalin 1 started producing crude oil on Sakhalin in 2005. Under a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin, foreign business partners had one month from the launch of the new operator in October to decide whether to invest in the new company.
Sakhalin Oil and Gas Development decided to invest in the new operator at a shareholders meeting on Nov. 4.
Exxon Mobil Corp. of the United States, a major stakeholder in Sakhalin 1, announced its withdrawal from the project in March.
