Sakhalin-I is an international consortium comprised of Exxon Neftegaz, Russia's Rosneft (20%), India's ONGC (20%), and Japan's Sodeco (30%), to develop the Arkutun-Dagi, Odoptu, and Chaivo deposits on the island's northeastern shelf. Their recoverable reserves are estimated at 2.3 billion barrels of oil and 484 billion cu m (17.1 trillion cubic feet) of natural gas.
Shin-Nippon Sekiyu said it expected to import up to 500,000 barrels a year at the initial stage. Oil will be transported by pipeline from the eastern coast of Sakhalin to the De-Kastri oil terminal in Russia's Khabarovsk Territory from where tankers will ship it across the Sea of Japan to oil refineries on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.
The terminal, from which oil could be shipped to buyers in the Asian Pacific region, is slated to be opened on October 4.
The Japanese company said that whereas it takes a tanker about 20 days to carry oil from the Middle East to Japan, oil from the Russian coast to Hokkaido can be shipped within just two days, which substantially cuts costs.
