OAO Gazprom has recouped nearly a quarter of its investment -- about $2.2 billion -- in the operator of a liquefied natural gas project in Russia's Far East, business daily Vedomosti reports Tuesday. The gas giant bought its stake of 50% plus one share in Sakhalin-2 in April 2007 for about $7.45 billion. By early 2009, it had invested a total of $9 billion, two sources close to the gas giant told Vedomosti. Last year, Gazprom spent $3.35 billion to buy back shares of Sakhalin Energy, which runs Sakhalin-2, according to a presentation to analysts.
The presentation shows Gazprom is owed $1,675 billion, and the operator's Dutch subsidiary -- the legal holder of the stock -- received from Sakhalin Energy $578 million through buybacks, according to the subsidiary's 2008 annual report under international financial reporting standards. It's unknown whether any amount beyond the $2.25 billion -- including in 2007 -- was received by Gazprom from Sakhalin-2, Vedomosti says. The gas giant's partners in the joint venture, which began production in early 2009, are Royal Dutch Shell and Japan's Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi Corp. A spokesman for Sakhalin Energy, Ivan Chernyakhovsky, said he couldn't comment on financial matters. Representatives of Gazprom and Shell also declined to comment.
