TOKYO, December 5. /TASS/. The US’ and the EU’s approval to temporarily exempt oil from the Sakhalin-2 project from anti-Russia sanctions has been granted at Tokyo’s request. Meanwhile, the Japanese authorities agreed with the price cap and other restrictions on the Sakhalin-1 project, an official from the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy at the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry told TASS on condition of anonymity on Monday.

"The Sakhalin-2 project is extremely important for Japan, with almost 9% of the country’s liquified natural gas consumption coming from there. Almost all of that goes to generating electricity, providing 3% of Japan’s electric power. The Sakhalin-2 project is focused mainly on LNG production, though a trifle of oil is produced there simultaneously as well. It is purchased together with liquified gas. We have cleared up the situation and asked our partners to exclude those oil supplies from sanctions," he explained.

"On the other hand, Sakhalin-1 is largely oil production. We intend to keep our presence there as it is one of the few projects connected with Japan outside the Middle East, on which we are 96% dependent on oil supplies," the official noted. "However, in reality, Japan does not import oil from Sakhalin-1 fields now, which is why there is no necessity to remove it from sanctions. We have our own strategic reserves of oil, as well as many alternative channels for its import," he added.

On December 5, an embargo on Russian oil shipments by sea to the European Union was enforced. The EU, G7 states (the UK, Germany, Italy, Canada, the US, France and Japan), as well as Australia, agreed to cap the price of Russian oil supplied by sea at $60 a barrel. The US, the EU and the UK impose the ban for their companies on transport, financial and insurance services regarding tankers carrying Russian oil at a price above the agreed upon level.

Meanwhile, the US Department of the Treasury permitted at the end of November transactions connected with shipments of oil from the Sakhalin-2 project to Japan by sea until September 30, 2023. They were excluded from the $60 per barrel price cap policy. Earlier, a similar exemption was adopted by the European Union, setting the deadline for it at June 5, 2023.

The Japanese government introduced the price cap on Russian oil on Monday, though it will not cover the production of the Sakhalin-2 project. According to a statement by the country’s foreign ministry, such a decision was made due to national energy security.