With the acceleration of China's overseas energy market development, it is becoming more and more important to study and analyze the petroleum legal environment in the field of foreign cooperation. This paper analyzes the process and causes of the dispute over the Sakhalin II international oil cooperation project in Russia, shows the relationship between Russian environmental protection issues and energy policies, and puts forward corresponding countermeasures to open up the Russian oil market, hoping to provide reference and help for investing in Russian oil projects.
Project background
Sakhalin Island is located in the Far East of Russia, where there are abundant gas fields. The oil and gas project of Sakhalin Island No.2 was signed 1994, which is the largest foreign-funded project in Russia and the only energy project in Russia without Russian shares. The recoverable reserves of oil and gas within its framework are 654.38+500 billion tons of oil and 500 billion cubic meters of natural gas, and the current development cost is as high as 20 billion US dollars. The Anglo-Dutch Shell Oil Group owns 55% of the equity of the project, while Mitsui & Co., Ltd. and Mitsubishi Corporation own 25% and 20% of the equity of the project respectively. Sakhalin Energy Group is the main body of "Sakhalin 2" project. The project was put into production in March 2006, and the daily output of crude oil exceeded 70,000 barrels. The group plans to more than double its output after installing platforms and pipelines, and is expected to start exporting liquefied natural gas in 2008.
The origin and progress of engineering disputes
According to the production sharing agreement signed at that time, the Russian government can only share profits with investors after they recover all the costs. In 2006, Shell announced that the cost of the project would double to nearly $22 billion, which meant that the deadline for Russian profits was postponed, causing strong dissatisfaction from the Russian government.
At the beginning of August, 2006, the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources filed an accusation against Sakhalin Energy Group in Moscow, demanding that it stop laying oil pipelines along the coast of sakhalin island. The Ministry of Natural Resources pointed out in the statement that the pipelines that have been laid at present are vulnerable to floods from mountains and rivers, which means that environmental disasters may occur. It is suggested that the government withdraw the approval of the group to develop the "Sakhalin 2" project in areas that may cause environmental harm. In response, Sakhalin Energy Group responded at the end of August that it had stopped the construction of its two pipelines, several kilometers of which were in danger of being attacked by flash floods in makarov, and stressed that the group had met the requirements of environmental protection suggestions put forward by experts when the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources approved the project.
In September 2006, Russia withdrew the environmental permit of the project on the grounds that the local ecological environment was destroyed. On September 25th, experts from Russian Natural Resources Use Supervision Bureau flew to Sakhalin Island for inspection, and made a formal statistical report on the local ecological losses to decide whether to continue the project. The next day, the European Bank for Reform and Development issued a statement saying that it would not make a decision to provide loans to the "Sakhalin 2" project until Shell and Russia completely solved the ecological and environmental problems. The bank had previously promised to provide a project loan of 400 million euros.
Settlement of project disputes
Revoking the ecological permit will affect the project for at least half a year, leading to further delays and cost overruns, and the losses of investors will be even greater, and the development of the "Sakhalin 2" project may be suspended. Just as the pressure on Shell Oil Company was increasing, the state-owned Gazprom tried to persuade Shell to sell its 25% stake in Sakhalin 2 project in exchange for some other Russian assets.
On February 22, 2006, 65438, Shell, Mitsui and Mitsubishi handed over the control of Sakhalin 2 project to Gazprom. The natural gas industry company officially announced that it will invest 7.45 billion US dollars to acquire 50% equity plus 1 share of the "Sakhalin 2" project. The parties to the project will continue to implement the product sharing agreement, but the implementation method will be slightly modified to compensate the losses suffered by Russia due to the upward adjustment of the project budget. It is reported that Russia has raised the project budget from US$ 654.38+0 billion to US$ 654.38+0.94 billion, which is only a little lower than the amount applied by the project operator Sakhalin Energy Company to the Russian government. According to the agreement, the original shareholders of the "Sakhalin 2" project each sold half of the shares to the natural gas industry company; Shell sells 27.5% equity plus 1 share (the price is $4 1 billion), and Mitsui sells12.5% ($654,380+86 million); Mitsubishi sold10% (149 million USD).
Former Russian President Vladimir Putin said when meeting with representatives of shareholders of Sakhalin 2 project: "The participation of natural gas industry companies in Sakhalin 2 project is a collective decision of the company's leadership. The Russian government has been informed of this matter. We welcome this and have no objection. "
All parties are satisfied with the outcome of the negotiations. Miller, president of Gazprom, said that the company has thus strengthened its position in the LNG market. Mitsui Group said that the joining of natural gas industry company will make the project proceed as planned. Mitsubishi Group pointed out that with the joint efforts of the four major shareholders, Sakhalin Energy Company is expected to become a major supplier of liquefied natural gas and oil in the Asia-Pacific region. Shell Group said that the signing of the agreement shows that the "Sakhalin 2" project can be implemented.
How to treat Russia's environmental protection and energy policy
Many large-scale energy cooperation and development agreements between Russia and foreign countries were signed in the 1990s, when the international oil price was different from now. If the original product profit sharing agreement is maintained, it will inevitably harm Russia's interests. Therefore, revoking the license of "Sakhalin 2" project is only a means for the Russian government to "scare" foreign investment companies to obtain more benefits. Re-signing the sharing agreement will damage Russia's international reputation. Therefore, it is the most ideal way for Gazprom to acquire the equity of Sakhalin 2 project. This move strengthened the Russian government's control over Russian energy resources and ended the continuous pressure of foreign investors for months.
The distribution of interests leads to Russia's dissatisfaction with the project investors, and the ecological environment problem is only an excuse for Russia to achieve its goals. In return for obtaining the controlling right of Sakhalin 2 oil and gas project, Russia agreed to increase the budget of this project, and stopped complaining that this project destroyed the environment, indicating that all previous complaints were just a negotiation skill. Russia also agreed to double the cost of the project to about $20 billion, but it refused to do so for months. Russia's series of measures on this project are precisely the embodiment that Russia attaches importance to energy initiative and seeks to maximize its own interests in the energy strategic game. Russian natural resources use supervision bureau has become a powerful economic policy tool in the hands of the state. This once unknown institution has become a powerful department that interferes with large-scale investment plans and can even change the implementation process of the plans. Russian nature protection agencies have been more and more actively intervening in the national economic plan, and their intervention effect and pressure on the commercial system are no less than those of traditional state departments such as tax authorities, and the degree of intervention will only increase.
Energy supply security is now an important political issue for the EU and Russia. Especially after Russia cut off the natural gas supply to Ukraine last winter, Russia's every move in energy has affected the sensitive nerves of the European Union. The Times commented that Russia's tough attitude shows that energy resources will become a favorable political weapon for Russia. "Sakhalin II" is just one of the large-scale projects affected by the new "cold war weapon" energy.
Countermeasures and suggestions
Invest by establishing joint ventures with large Russian oil companies. In recent years, Russia has continuously increased its control over resources. On the one hand, some private energy companies will be nationalized through the purchase of shares by state-owned holding companies; On the other hand, the government has taken various measures to reduce the profits of foreign companies under high oil prices, which makes foreign oil companies' oil and gas investment risks in Russia more and more serious. In this case, when foreign oil companies invest in Russia, it is the best choice to cooperate with large Russian state-owned oil companies to set up joint ventures and take advantage of their special position in the country to avoid investment risks. Quickly improve the environmental protection and HSE implementation level of petroleum projects. Although controlling oil companies by means of environmental protection is a challenge for Russia, it is also an opportunity for China energy enterprises to enhance their own strength. China's energy enterprises should be in line with Russian international large oil companies and Russian domestic large oil companies, strengthen environmental protection measures for oil projects, and greatly improve the HSE management level. This is not only the opening trend of the international oil market, but also a necessary means to meet Russia's increasingly strict environmental protection requirements.