The accusations against Exxon Neftegaz Limited, a subsidiary of U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil, are the latest of a range of environmental fears over the two vast ongoing oil and gas projects on the Far East island, the other being Sakhalin-2, owned by Russian state gas giant Gazprom.
A company spokesman told RIA Novosti: "Exxon Neftegaz Limited has been financing programs for monitoring the Okhotsk-Korean population of gray whales since 1997... No evidence has been produced that the Sakhalin-1 project is having a significant negative impact on the population of gray whales or their habitat."
World Wildlife Fund Russia has said Sakhalin-1 is likely to deprive food for the gray whales, classified on the IUCN Red List as "critically endangered" in the western Pacific.
Earlier this month, an environmental consultation group sent a letter to Exxon Neftegaz and the Russian Natural Resources Ministry voicing concern over the impact of the project on the Piltun Lagoon.
The spokesman said Exxon Neftegaz has pledged to take measures to limit environmental damage in operations near Piltun. The company will also continue financing programs for the monitoring of gray whales and other flora and fauna in the area, he said.
Sakhalin-1 project is run under a 1996 production sharing agreement. Exxon Neftegas Limited holds a 30% stake in the Sakhalin-1 production sharing agreement. The other shareholders are state-owned Russian oil company Rosneft (20%), India's ONGC (20%) and Japan's Sodeco (30%).
Sakhalin-1 is Russia's largest oil and gas project for foreign direct investment. Probable reserves at the three fields - Chaivo, Odoptu and Arktun-Dagi in northern Sakhalin - have been estimated at 307 million metric tons of oil and 485 billion cubic meters of gas.
