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Russia pressure on Shell alarms EU
Russia stepped up the pressure on Royal Dutch Shell and its Japanese partners yesterday over a $20 billion oil and gas development in the Far East, sparking protests from Tokyo and Brussels.
In the latest blow to Sakhalin-2, one of the world’s biggest energy projects, Russian gas monopoly Gazprom revealed that asset swap talks with operator Shell had stalled for months due to Shell’s cost overrun at Sakhalin.
This followed a Russian decision the day before to revoke environmental approval for the project because of allegations that Shell had violated their terms. Shell denies this.
The European Commission said it was taking Russia’s withdrawal of the permits “very seriously” and called on Moscow to guarantee a secure and predictable investment climate.
Japan’s prime minister-in-waiting Shinzo Abe said a major delay to Sakhalin could hurt diplomatic relations. The head of the International Energy Agency, Claude Mandil, said it could damage Russia’s investment climate.
Japan’s Mitsui & Co Ltd and Mitsubishi Corp own a combined stake of 45 percent in Sakhalin-2. Import-dependent Japan will be a major customer.
Royal Dutch Shell shares fell 1.7 percent on the news.
Analyst suspect the Kremlin will ratchet up the pressure to the point where Shell would be forced to surrender long-established production deals to give Russia a bigger slice.
Sakhalin-2 involves the construction of the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant with capacity of 9.6 million tonnes a year that would supply customers in Japan, the United States and Asian countries.
Shell has spent upwards of $10 billion on Sakhalin-2, on the remote, mountainous Pacific island of Sakhalin which is freezing cold in winter. The project is due to go on stream in 2008 and much of the initial production has already found customers.
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