VZCZCXRO0345
OO RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHMO #2458 3200527
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 160527Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5175
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS MOSCOW 012458 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/RUS WARLICK, HOLMAN, AND GUHA 
DEPT FOR EB/ESC/IEC GALLOGLY AND GARVERICK 
DOE FOR HARBERT/EKIMOFF/PISCITELLI 
DOC FOR 4231/IEP/EUR/JBROUGHER 
NSC FOR GRAHAM AND MCKIBBEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EPET ENRG ECON PREL RS
SUBJECT: RUSSIAN ENERGY: UPDATE ON SAKHALIN-1 OPERATIONS 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) In light of press reports indicating that the GOR 
was slowing the Sakhalin-1 consortium's operations, we 
contacted ExxonMobil's Sakhalin office to get an update. 
According to Michael Allen, ExxonMobil's government relations 
head on Sakhalin, as of November 16 the consortium had still 
not received the necessary clearances from RosTekhNadzor (RTN 
-- the Russian environmental, industrial, and nuclear safety 
watchdog) that would allow for "full" operations at the 
De-Kastri oil terminal.  According to Allen, Sakhalin-1 is 
exporting on a "trial" basis in the sense that they are not 
yet producing -- and exporting -- the expected 250,000 
barrels per day (b/d) from the terminal.  Presently, they are 
producing roughly 100,000 b/d, all of which is being loaded 
on tankers and sent to global markets. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Allen said that they are moving in the right 
direction with RTN but describes the process as "start-stop." 
 He hopes that, once the consortium works through RTN's list 
of uncompleted requirements later this year that RTN and the 
Khabarovsk Kray government, where the oil terminal is 
located, will go ahead and issue the "full facility operating 
permit," paving the way for full production by the end of 
this year or early 2007. 
BURNS