Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed a decree to create a new operating company for the Sakhalin 1 oil and gas project, according to Russian media. With the signing, Russia will ask foreign stakeholders if they wish to remain part of the project, which is partly financed by the Japanese government and companies, including Itochu Corp. and Marubeni Corp., through Sakhalin Oil and Gas Development Co., or SODECO. SODECO holds a 30 percent stake in the project, which started producing crude oil in 2005. The decree was quoted as stating that foreign business partners will have one mont...
