Page 14 - FSUOGM Week 42 2022

FSUOGM PROJECTS & COMPANIES FSUOGM

ONGC reportedly looking to maintain stake

in Russian Sakhalin-1 oil project

RUSSIA INDIAN state oil company ONGC Videsh Ltd bpd, according to Russian media. Sources told
(OVL) plans to maintain its stake in the Sakha- Reuters on October 17 that this collapse was the
Unlike ExxonMobil, lin-1 oil and gas project in the Russian Far East, result of ExxonMobil’s refusal to accept local
ONGC may continue its the Times of India reported on October 18, insurance for tankers. Western insurers with-
involvement. despite Moscow passing operatorship of the drew their cover for tankers operated by Russia’s
fields to a new Russian entity. state-owned Sovcomflot after the company was
“ONGC Videsh will protect its share in the sanctioned by the West in response to Moscow’s
project, which means it will take a stake in the invasion of Ukraine.
new entity,” the newspaper said, citing one of its This operator, also named Sakhalin-1, has
sources. been incorporated in the Sakhalin Island cap-
The report comes a day after ExxonMobil, the ital of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk as a limited liabil-
former lead partner in Sakhalin-1, said its 30% ity company with a foundation capital of only
interest in the project had been expropriated as a RUB10,000 ($160). Foreign investors have been
result of the transfer in operatorship. The Indian asked to apply to retain their stakes, but whether
government had said last week it would maintain they are successful will depend on Russian gov-
a “healthy dialogue” with Moscow and would see ernment approval.
what the Russian government offered following Even if Russia had accepted ExxonMobil’s
the change in Sakhalin-1’s control. bid, the US major had announced its intention
OVL had a 20% position in the consortium to withdraw from Russia anyway in early March,
previously operating Sakhalin-1, while Japan’s days after Moscow launched its invasion of
SODECO has 30% and Russia’s state-owned Ukraine. ExxonMobil had sought to find a buyer
Rosneft controls the remaining 20%. for its share, but this process was complicated by
Russia seems to have justified its decision a Russian decree forbidding the sale of stakes in
to seize Sakhalin-1 on the basis that output at strategic assets by foreign investors. As it now
the project has slumped from a pre-war level stands, the US major leaves a multibillion-dollar
of 220,000 barrels per day of oil to only 10,000 investment with nothing. ™

Rosneft sues Germany for asset takeover

RUSSIA RUSSIAN state oil major Rosneft has sued the (RNRM) have been placed under the trust man-
German government for the transfer of two Ros- agement of the German regulator. Christoph
Germany took control neft’s subsidiaries to the German Federal Net- Morgen, a partner in the law firm Brinkmann &
of the assets citing work Agency (Bundesnetzagentur), Vedomosti Partners, has been appointed managing director
concerns about its daily reported citing Handelsblatt. of both Rosneft subsidiaries.
energy security. As followed by bne IntelliNews, the Ger- Rosneft's German subsidiaries have a con-
man government has placed Rosneft’s refining trolling interest in the refinery PCK Schwedt
interests in the country under state trusteeship, (54.17%) and also hold shares in the refineries
arguing the step was necessary to shore up the MiRo (24%) and Bayernoil (28.57%). These
country’s energy security. enterprises account for about 12% of oil refining
Reportedly Rosneft has taken legal action in Germany, making Rosneft one of the largest
and sued the German government at the federal oil refiners in the country.
administrative court in Leipzig. The plaintiff A Vedomosti source at a consulting company
believes that the actions of the German authori- estimated the value of Rosneft's assets in Ger-
ties "have no legal justification, because the com- many to be more than $7bn, "taking into account
pany continues to supply oil to Germany despite the current refining margins". The award claimed
the geopolitical situation". by Rosneft is not disclosed, but previous Rosneft
To remind, Rosneft Deutschland GmbH reports claimed to have invested €4.6bn in the
(RDG) and RN Refining & Marketing GmbH refining projects in Germany. ™

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 42 20•October•2022