Crude Output to Halt at Russia's Sakhalin-1 in August Due to Maintenance

Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft will suspend output of its export-oriented Sokol crude grade at its far eastern Sakhalin-1 project in August because of maintenance, three industry sources told Reuters.

According to one of them, the maintenance will last between 20 and 25 days. Another source said the work is planned to start in late July and will be completed by the end of August, without specifying dates.

In July, oil production at Sakhalin-1 is expected to fall slightly to 135,000 barrels per day from the usual 150,000-160,000 bpd due to maintenance at one of the compressors, one of the sources said.

None of the sources could be named because they were not authorised to speak publicly on the issue.

Rosneft did not respond to Reuters' request for comment. Maintenance is a usual procedure for the Sakhalin oilfields.

The export of Sokol oil from the Sakhalin-1 project has been challenging due to Western sanctions on the Russian energy sector since 2022 over the war in Ukraine.

Production and shipments of the grade were suspended that year for several months after ExxonMobil withdrew from the project.

In 2024, due to sanctions against a number of tankers and difficulties in making international payments for cargoes, Sokol oil stayed idle in floating storage for several weeks looking for buyers.

ExxonMobil held a 30% operator stake in Sakhalin-1, which is a project to develop oil and gas off the coast of Sakhalin Island.

The U.S. company, along with Rosneft, India's ONGC Videsh and Japan's SODECO were partners. In 2022, Exxon took a $4.6 billion write-down for exiting the Sakhalin-1 development, leaving Rosneft in control.

(Reuters)