Russia Halts Sakhalin 2 Project For Environmental Reasons - AFP

[hatrack]

Yeah, we all know how concerned the Putin regime is about the environment.

:eyes:

Russia said Monday it had cancelled an environmental permit essential for a Shell-led consortium to develop the huge Sakhalin-2 oil and gas field, as a top official warned other foreign energy companies may lose their licenses.
The permit withdrawn from British-Dutch Shell is the latest example of official pressure on foreign investors as the Kremlin moves to tighten its grip on the country's vast energy resources.

Sakhalin-2 is the world's biggest privately funded energy project.

"The prosecutor general on Saturday issued an order to cancel... the approval of the ecological assessment. We are required to fulfill this order," ministry spokesman Rinat Gizatulin told AFP. The decision will halt all work at the 20-billion-dollar (15.8-billion-euro) Sakhalin-2 project, according to the state agency on natural resources, which filed suit last week to have the ecological assessment revoked.

With the environmental permits cancelled, "business and other activity within the framework of Sakhalin-2 will be forbidden until new state ecological approvals are received and all violations of environmental law are eliminated", the agency said in a statement last week. A hearing on the agency's suit that had been planned for this Thursday has been cancelled, a source at the ministry told news agency Interfax.

EDIT

http://www.terradaily.com/2006/060918160125.5e1aea4c.html

[Eugene]

1. US says 'very concerned' by Russian steps on Shell (Reuters)

US says 'very concerned' by Russian steps on Shell
Fri Sep 22, 2006 6:52 PM BST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Friday added its voice
to the chorus of Western nations troubled by Russia's dealings
with foreign oil companies, saying it was "very concerned" by Moscow's
treatment of Royal Dutch Shell.

"The United States is very concerned by recent Russian government
action threatening the revocation of Shell's environmental permit
for the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project," State Department spokesman
Tom Casey told reporters.

-snip-

Casey said he was not aware of any actions taken against U.S. companies
like Exxon Mobil Corp. but said Russia's actions on Shell "cast doubt"
on its willingness to keep its international commitments, including
promises made at the Group of Eight summit in St. Petersburg in July.

"Those commitments included agreeing to the development of transparent,
efficient and competitive global energy markets as well as specific
obligations to uphold contracts and to generate sufficient sustainable
international investments ... in the energy sector," Casey said. "We call
on Russia to uphold the commitments on energy, including its commitments
on upholding contracts."

Full article: http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-09-22T175140Z_01_WAT006286_RTRUKOC_0_UK-ENERGY-USA-SHELL.xml

[BeFree]

3. Commitments

It would be nice if our government lived up to the commitments under the Geneva convention. But I guess big oil gets more attention than us puny little ol' humans.

[Systematic Chaos]

2. I guess they must read DU....

They're obviously not buying the M$M hype that we have enough oil to last until Hell freezes over. Love 'em or hate 'em, you can't blame the Russians for wanting to have some oil for themselves when the shit hits the fan, can you?