MOSCOW (Kyodo) Russian gas monopoly Gazprom has taken over the Sakhalin-2 oil and natural gas development project as Japanese trading houses Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi Corp. and the Royal Dutch/Shell group of Europe ceded a majority stake in their joint project to the state-affiliated Russian firm.
An agreement on the deal was signed Wednesday by Gazprom Deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev and executives of the three foreign companies in line with a basic accord reached last December.
In Tokyo on Thursday, Mitsubishi Corp. Chairman Mikio Sasaki accepted the signing of the deal, telling reporters he hopes a new framework of cooperation will develop further.