YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, October 11 (RIA Novosti) - Sakhalin Energy, the operator of the Sakhalin II oil and gas project in Russia's Far East, said on Thursday it has so far signed $10 billion worth of contracts with Russian companies under the project.

Although Russian contractors largely contribute materials, equipment and man-hours to the project, "Sakhalin Energy is also seeking to increase as much as possible Russia's share in monetary terms," Lyudmila Gorelova, a manager of the Gazprom-controlled operator, told a briefing.

The manager said Russian contractors had worked 191 million man-hours since 1996, accounting for 80% of the total volume of labor costs. She said 9.7 million metric tons of Russian materials, or 91% of all materials at Sakhalin II, were also used in the same period.

The total cost of the oil and gas project of Russia's Pacific coast is estimated at $20 billion. Sakhalin II includes the Piltun-Astokhskoye and Lunskoye oil and gas fields on Sakhalin Island's northeastern shelf, with recoverable reserves estimated at 150 million tons (1.1 billion bbl) of oil and 500 billion cubic meters of gas.

The minority partners in the project, Royal Dutch Shell, Mitsui and Mitsubishi, currently hold 27.5%, 12.5% and 10% stakes in the project respectively. Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom acquired a controlling stake (50% plus one share) in the project last December.