India will weigh what Russia has to offer 

on Sakhalin-1 ownership revamp

Mon, October 10, 2022 

By Marianna Parraga and Gary McWilliams

HOUSTON (Reuters) -India maintains a "healthy dialogue" with Russia and will look at what is offered following an announced ownership revamp to the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told Reuters.

Russia last week issued a decree allowing it to seize Exxon Mobil's 30% stake and gave a Russian state-run company the authority to decide whether foreign shareholders including India's ONGC Videsh can retain their participation in the project.

"We’ll look at what is the state of play and what’s on offer," Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told Reuters in an interview on Monday following meetings with U.S. oil executives in Houston.

India is "actively monitoring" Saudi Arabia's Asia premium over oil prices after OPEC+ last week agreed to cut oil production by 2 million barrels per day beginning next month, Puri said.

"At the end of the day, consumers start playing a role when situations like this evolve,” he said referring to global energy balance and the "unintended consequences" of the OPEC+ decision. Too high oil prices could exacerbate inflation and tip the global economy in recession, reducing oil demand, he added.

On the proposed European Union price cap on Russian oil purchases, he suggested it is not yet firm. “If the Europeans come with a plan, let’s see how it evolves," he said.

Puri this week met U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Energy Security adviser Amos Hochstein in Washington, where they discussed collaborations on biofuels and clean energy in addition to energy security.

"At no stage have we ever been told not to buy Russian oil," he said, referring to talks with officials on global energy supplies.

In Houston, he met executives from Exxon Mobil, oilfield service provider Baker Hughes, and with liquefied natural gas producers after launching a bidding round for offshore oil and gas exploration areas.

India is interested in the U.S companies' technical expertise in offshore production, ethanol and sulfur recovery in oil refineries, Puri added.

"For getting to green energy, you have to survive the present," he said.

There are also discussions underway with Guyana, Brazil and Colombia for joint investment and extra supplies of crude for Indian refiners, he said.

(Reporting by Marianna Parraga and Gary McWilliams; Editing by Lincoln Feast)

Japan says will decide steps on Sakhalin-1 in consultation with partners


Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura arrives at Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's official residence in Tokyo

Mon, October 10, 2022 
By Yuka Obayashi

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan will decide what to do about the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project in Russia's Far East in consultation with its partners as it reviews details of a decree by Moscow, Japanese industry minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Tuesday.

Russia last week issued a decree allowing it to seize Exxon Mobil's 30% stake, and gave a Russian state-run company the authority to decide whether foreign shareholders, including Japan's SODECO, can retain their participation in the project.

"We will consult with stakeholders and consider specific responses while confirming detailed conditions and procedures of the decree," Nishimura told a news conference.

"The Sakhalin-1 remains an important project for Japan in terms of energy security," Nishimura said, adding that the project is a key energy source outside the Middle East, on which Japan relies for more than 95% of its oil supply.

Any immediate impact on Japan's oil supply, however, will be limited as the country stopped importing crude from the project in May, he said.

The ministry is also investigating the extent of the damage to the Malaysia LNG Dua liquefaction terminal, and the liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply impact on Japanese companies after Malaysia's Petronas declared force majeure, Nishimura said.

Petronas issued the declaration on Oct. 4 after a pipeline leak caused by soil movement at the Sabah-Sarawak Gas Pipeline on Sept. 21.

"We have strongly requested Petronas to minimize the impact of the supply outage through early restoration and providing alternative supply for Japan," Nishimura said.

"Japan will continue to hold close discussions with the Malaysian government and Petronas to ensure the stable supply of LNG in Japan," he added.

The disruption comes as Japan and many countries in Europe are scrambling to ensure gas supply for peak winter demand as they face the threat of an energy cut-off from Russia amid the war in Ukraine.

(Reporting by Yuka ObayashiEditing by Shri Navaratnam and Gerry Doyle)