Sakhalin: Gazprom buys 20% of output.
Gazprom grabs 20% of Sakhalin-1 gas
The Sakhalin-1 consortium reportedly has agreed to sell 20% of the natural gas extracted from the project to Russian monopoly Gazprom.
The price of the gas, which has been the main sticking point in talks over the sale, is still being negotiated, according to an anonymous source.
Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said he could not immediately comment on the report, as did a spokesman for state-controlled Rosneft, according to Japanese business daily Nikkei, which broke the story.
A spokeswoman for Exxon Mobil also declined to comment in Nikkei.
US supermajor ExxonMobil operates Sakhalin-1, on the Russian Pacific coast island of the same name, in cooperation with Russian state oil firm Rosneft, Japan's Itochu, Japanese outfit Marubeni and India's ONGC.
Gazprom has long said it needs the gas produced at Sakahlin-1 to cover domestic needs, while ExxonMobil has long-stated it is looking for the best price, though has eyed major importer China for some time.
The project has been producing oil for several years and reached peak production of 11.2 million tonnes in 2007.
It has been producing gas since 2005 and shipping small volumes to continental Russia.
It has signed a deal to supply China with 8 billion cubic metres of gas a year and hopes to start the supplies next decade.