TOKYO, October 31. /TASS/. The Japanese government decided to keep participation in the Sakhalin-1 project transferred to the Russian jurisdiction, Nikkei newspaper said on Monday, citing sources.
The decision was made in interests of energy security and stable oil supplies, with 95% of them coming to Japan from the Middle East, the newspaper said. Japan’s authorities reiterated earlier that the country wants to ensure diversification of resource supplies. At the same time, Japan is not importing oil from the Sakhalin-1 at present.
Japan’s Sodeco consortium has 30% in the Sakhalin-1 project. The final decision will be taken by the company after consultations among all its members, Nikkei said.
On October 7, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the decree establishing a new Russian operator of the Sakhalin-1 project. Foreign participants in the project are to furnish notices to the Russian government about their consent to take ownership stake in the authorized capital of the Sakhalin-1 in line with the previous distribution of shares.