Gazprom Acquired Former Shell Stake in Sakhalin Energy

SEATTLE (Oil Monster): A unit of the Russian gas giant Gazprom has acquired 27.5% stake, formerly held by Shell, in leading Russian LNG producer Sakhalin Energy for approximately $1 billion. Simultaneously, the government has cancelled an earlier order to sell the stake to Novatek- a rival of Gazprom.

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The announcement by the Russian government noted that it has been decided to sell the stake to a company called Sakhalin Project, fully owned by Gazprom, for $1.02 billion. The government has not provided any explanation for the switch in buyers.

However, analysts noted that it is partly due to Novatek’s speculations about high legal risks associated with the transaction. It must be noted that the U.S. had announced sanctions Novatek-led Arctic LNG 2 project, following the Ukraine conflict.

In 2022, Sakhalin energy accounted for almost 3% of global LNG demand. The LNG cargoes from the company were mainly shipped to Japan, South Korea, China, India and other Asian countries. The LNG production totalled just over 10 million metric tons in 2023, significantly down from the production of 11.5 million metric tons in 2022.

Meantime, Shell declined to comment, saying that it cannot make any remark on matters relating to the Russian Federal Government's Decree process. Shell reserves all its legal rights relating to its 27.5% interest in Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd (SEIC), it added.