OVL retakes 20% stake in Sakhalin-1 oil, gas fields
The Hindu
The other former foreign shareholders in the project - Japan's Sodeco consortium and ONGC Videsh - were asked to apply to the Russian government to regain their shareholdings in the project.
ONGC Videsh Limited, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), has re-taken a 20% stake in the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas fields in the far east region of Russia, an official said on Monday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in October last year disbanded Exxon Neftegaz - a regional subsidiary of U.S. super major ExxonMobil - as operator of the Sakhalin-1 and transferred the project and all of its assets and equipment to a new operator.
The other former foreign shareholders in the project - Japan's Sodeco consortium and ONGC Videsh - were asked to apply to the Russian government to regain their shareholdings in the project.
OVL applied and has been given the same shareholding as it had previously, the official said.
Production from Sakhalin-1 stopped in April 2022 after Exxon Neftegaz declared force majeure at the project in response to international sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
Moscow assigned the Sakhalin-1 project and operatorship to a regional subsidiary of Russian oil producer Rosneft. Russia then asked foreign shareholders in the project - ExxonMobil, Sodeco and ONGC Videsh - to apply to reinstate their shareholdings in the project before mid-November.
The Sodeco consortium too has retained its stake but there is no clarity on what will happen to ExxonMobil's stake.
