 |
|
||
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
||||||||
|
|
|
Russia annexes Sakhalin-2
Gazprom will get control over the project
Royal Dutch Shell offered Russian gas giant Gazprom to participate in Sakhalin-2 on new terms. Shell has not disclosed the details of the proposal, but, according to RBC Daily, Gazprom hopes to get a controlling interest in the project. In return Shell could get a stake in the Shtokman gas field or other assets of Gazprom or state oil company Rosneft.
Shell’s chief executive Jeroen van der Veer made the new offer to Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller and Russian Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko on Friday. “We are considering these proposals,” Gazprom’s spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said, noting that there remained a number of problems, including environmental ones.
Shell spokesman Maxim Shub described the meeting as “constructive” and “positive” but he has not specified the details of the negotiations. According to RBC Daily, Gazprom is hoping for a controlling stake in Sakhalin Energy (SE), the Sakhalin-2 operator. According to Reuters, Shell will reduce its holding to 25 percent, while Mitsui and Mitsubishi will each sell 10 percent of their stakes to Gazprom. Mitsui officials said their company was watching the events but it would not make any comments until Shell made its position clear. Mitsubishi spokesmen were unavailable for comment.
Foreigners will exchange their stakes in SE in return for fines levied by Russian environmental regulators, says Mikhail Korchemkin, Director of East European Gas Analysis. Swapping a 50 percent stake in Sakhalin-2 for a 50 percent in the Zapolyarnoye field, which is not yet being developed, can hardly be considered equivalent. Gazprom could also offer Shell deep deposits at the Urengoy and Yamburg gas fields, where gas production is more expensive,” the expert said.
Alexei Kormshchikov, at URALSIB, thinks Shell could be invited to take part in the Shtokman gas condensate project in the Barents Sea. Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that foreigners would not be barred from Shtokman.
Rosneft, which has recently signed a cooperation agreement with Rosneft, might also be affected. An idea to set up a state corporation to oversee offshore oil and gas projects was discussed by Russia’s Security Council on Saturday. According to RBC Daily, the new company could also be involved in Sakhalin-2. In this case, Shell could be offered Rosneft’s production assets, a source close to the project told RBC Daily. Rosneft refused to comment on the issue. Sakhalin-2 envisages the development of the Lunskoye and Piltun-Astokhskoye fields with total reserves of 600 million tonnes of oil and condensate and 700 billion cubic meters of natural gas. The operator of the project is Sakhalin Energy, in which Shell Sakhalin Holdings B.V. (controlled by Royal Dutch/Shell) has 55 percent, Mitsui Sakhalin Holdings B.V. (founded by Mitsui) has 25 percent, and Diamond Gas Sakhalin B.V. (controlled by Mitsubishi Corporation) has 20 percent. The second stage of the project was announced in May 2003. Along with the construction of offshore platforms in Aniva Bay (southern Sakhalin), the second phase of Sakhalin-2 includes the construction of an oil terminal and a LNG plant with a capacity of 9.6 million tonnes, estimated at $2 billion. Analytical department of RIA RosBusinessConsulting
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
