Russia prolongs Shell project probe, may prosecute

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, Russia (Reuters) – Russia has prolonged an environmental inspection of Royal Dutch Shell’s $22 billion Sakhalin oil and gas project and may prosecute the scheme, the natural resources minister said on Wednesday.

Pressure is building on many foreign operators in Russia, and analysts suspect a Kremlin push for more control of the mutil-billion dollar energy industry. The most intense scrutiny has been directed at Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) and the vast Sakhalin-2 project it leads on the Pacific island of Sakhalin.

“The breaches at Sakhalin-2 fall under five articles of the criminal code,” Natural Resources Minister Yuri Trutnev said at a meeting with environmental inspectors and officials from project operator Sakhalin Energy.

“This falls under criminal law and we think it’s necessary to apply it. All the relevant documents should be sent to the Prosecutor General within two weeks.”

Reuters