MOSCOW, July 16./ITAR-TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has interfered in a conflict between gas giant Gazprom and oil major Rosneft on access to the trans-Sakhalin pipeline, ordering to work out the possibility of handing the pipe to the state, which could mean permission for Rosneft to use it, business daily Kommersant reported on Wednesday citing sources.

Last week Putin ordered the government to work out the transition of the infrastructure of projects developed under the production sharing agreement to the Federal State Property Management Agency. These projects are Sakhalin-1, Sakhalin-2 and the development of the Kharyaginskoye field, the sources said.

In this case Rosneft will get access to the pipeline to pump gas from its future liquefied natural gas plant, which Gazprom refused to give, saying that there is no free capacity. Rosneft wants 8 billion cubic meters of capacity out of the pipeline’s 18.6 billion cubic meter capacity.

Rosneft is also ready to finance the installation of compressor stations to increase the pipeline’s capacity. Each station costs about US $1 billion, Kommersant reported citing sources.

Both companies and the Federal State Property Management Agency declined to comment, while the Finance Ministry confirmed receiving the order.

On Monday, Rosneft filed a suit against the operator of the Gazprom-led project located on the shelf of the Sakhalin Island in Russia’s Far East, Sakhalin Energy, to a regional arbitration court which will consider the claim on August 6.

The Federal Antimonopoly Service earlier ordered Sakhalin Energy to consider Rosneft’s request by July 31 and grant access to the pipeline if it is technically and economically feasible.