Japan called on Russia yesterday to prove its "credibility" by keeping on schedule deliveries of gas from the Sakhalin-2 mega-project amid reports that Moscow had secured control of it.
Japanese firms, which hold 45 percent of the world's biggest privately financed energy project, said they would follow the lead of consortium leader Shell on whether to give up their majority stake.
Japan is the primary market for gas from Sakhalin-2, which was slated to start delivering gas in 2008.
"It is extremely important that the resources from the Sakhalin-2 project be properly delivered to the final user," Japan's trade minister Akira Amari told reporters.
Amari acknowledged it was "a global trend" for energy-rich countries to try to take control of oil and gas reserves as they are "precious resources for their development."
"But what is important is to guarantee the credibility of contracts between private firms, so that firms will not hesitate in investing in Russia," Amari said.
"It is not in Russia's interest for the project to be delayed. I believe Russia will cooperate for the speedy start of the supply," Amari said.
Russia in September halted all work on the US$20 billion project. It cited environmental concerns but some foreign investors accused Moscow of muscling in to reassert control over its energy resources.
The Financial Times said yesterday that British-Dutch oil group Shell and its two Japanese partners, Mitsui and Mitsubishi, had "succumbed to pressure" and offered majority control to Russia's state-run Gazprom.
The Japanese companies said that Shell, which holds a 55 percent stake in the project, was leading the negotiations.
"As the negotiating right is held by Shell, we are just waiting for the outcome of the talks," said a Mitsui spokesman. "We have not heard that an agreement was reached."
A Mitsubishi spokesman said: "Although we have been informed by Shell on the negotiation process, we are not in a position to give details about it."
The Financial Times, citing unnamed sources and analysts, said Gazprom would pay about US$4 billion to obtain a 50 percent stake in the project.
Shell would reduce its 55 percent stake to 25 percent, while Mitsui and Mitsubishi, who own 25 percent and 20 percent respectively, would sell 10 percent each, the Financial Times said.
It said the foreign investors decided to give up after pressure from Russia, including threats to open criminal investigations over alleged environmental violations.
Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun business newspaper reported similar details of the potential stake sales but said the proposal came from Gazprom's chief Alexei Miller and that Shell held off on an immediate response.
However, if Shell agreed to offload some of its stake, the Japanese firms would likely do the same, the Nihon Keizai said.
Gazprom said that on Friday Miller met Shell chief executive officer Jeroen van der Veer who made "a number of proposals concerning the Sakhalin-2 project" that were "being analyzed."
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS