Rosneft sues its Sakhalin-1 consortium partners for more than 1.4 billion dollars

Rosneft is taking its Sakhalin-1 consortium partners to the Sakhalin arbitration court, seeking more than 89 billion rubles ($1.4 billion) for their alleged “unjust enrichment” to the tune of 81.7 billion rubles ($1.3 billion). Rosneft also wants an additional 7 billion rubles ($110.9 million) for “the use of another’s monetary assets” between July 10, 2015, and May 31, 2018. The preliminary hearing is set for September 10.

One of Russia’s largest direct-foreign-investment projects ever, Sakhalin-1 is a consortium for oil and gas production on Sakhalin Island and immediately offshore. Eighty percent of the consortium is owned by U.S., Japanese, and Indian companies.

This isn’t the first time Rosneft has sought billions in court. The Russian government seized Sistema’s stake in the mid-sized oil company Bashneft in 2014, saying its privatization had been illegal. In May 2017, after buying a controlling stake in Bashneft, Rosneft sued Sistema for allegedly removing assets from Bashneft. In December 2017, Sistema agreed to pay Bashneft 100 billion rubles ($1.6 billion) by March 30, 2018.