ONGC Videsh making a proposal to retake 20% stake in Russia’s Sakhalin-1

ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), is making a proposal to retake 20 per cent stake in Russia’s Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project in the far east, sources said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month disbanded Exxon Neftegaz – a regional subsidiary of US supermajor 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 – have to apply to the Russian government to regain their shareholdings in the project.