Photo/Illutration A pipe is seen connecting a facility of the Sakhalin-2 project in Russia’s Sakhalin, seen in the upper part of the photo, with the liquefied natural gas carrier Grand Aniva on Feb. 18, 2009. (Hiroshi Kawai)

The Russian government has allowed Japan’s Mitsui & Co. to hold stakes in the new operator of the Sakhalin-2 gas and oil extraction project.

Russia published an ordinance on Aug. 30 that allows the operator to transfer 12.5 percent of its shares to a subsidiary of Mitsui.

Analysts believe Russia will also soon agree to allow Mitsubishi Corp. to hold shares in the operator.

Mitsubishi is another Japanese trading company that has had stakes in the project, located in Russia’s Far East.

Observers said this means Japan can expect a stable supply of energy for the time being.

Gazprom, a Russian state-owned liquefied natural gas company, owned a controlling interest in the previous operator of the project--50 percent, plus one share.

The British oil giant Shell held around 27.5 percent, while Mitsui owned 12.5 percent and Mitsubishi had a 10-percent stake.

But at the end of June, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a presidential order that effectively transfers the project to a new operator.

That new operator was established on Aug. 5.

Mitsui and Mitsubishi both decided to continue to participate in the project and informed the Russian government.

Shell decided to withdraw from the project after Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

The company is believed to be looking for a buyer for its stake in the project.

Since it started the invasion, Russia has disrupted the energy landscape by limiting its supply of LNG to European countries and through other means, pushing up the price of the energy source around the world.

Some observers had feared Russia could punish Japan by withholding its LNG supply, since Japan had joined with Western countries in imposing economic sanctions on the energy-rich country.

Japan relies on Russia for just under 10 percent of the LNG imported to the country and most of it comes from Sakhalin-2.

The Japanese government and the country’s utility companies had hoped that Mitsui and Mitsubishi would continue to retain stakes in the project.

Japanese utility companies, including Tokyo Gas Co., Kyushu Electric Power Co. and Jera Co., have signed fresh contracts with the new operator of the project as of Aug. 30.

The conditions in the new contracts for Tokyo Gas and Jera are the same as in the previous ones regarding energy prices and supply amounts.

Kyushu Electric Power has not made public the details of its new contract.

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