Sakhalin-2 will provide oil production for planned

Two sources familiar with the company’s operations said Russia’s Sakhalin-2 project has halted oil production since June due to planned maintenance and repairs at its LNG plant.

Sources claim that maintenance of the oil infrastructure on Sakhalin-2 began in late June and will continue for several more weeks in July.

The Sakhalin-2 LNG plant has been closed since June 20 for annual maintenance.

Sakhalin Energy is the operator of the project but did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to LSEG data, the tanker Zaliv Vostok loaded 80,000 tons of Sakhalin Blend from the Prigorodnoye terminal on June 23. The tanker Zaliv Aniva also loaded a cargo of exactly the same size on July 3. According to one source, the cargoes were probably unloaded from the storage facility.

Due to maintenance work, the usual three 80,000 tonne cargoes of Sakhalin Blend in July are expected to be smaller than usual. Sakhalin Blend is sold mainly to Chinese refineries.

Sakhalin-2’s oil production is about 4 million tons per year. The Sakhalin Island administration estimates that both the Sakhalin-1 and Sakhalin-2 oil projects will produce 9.8 million tons of crude oil and condensate this year.

The remaining company will continue to be controlled by Russian energy giant Gazprom. Mitsui, Mitsubishi and the Japanese Mitsui Group each own 22.5 percent.