OREANDA-NEWS. September 22, 2009. Sakhalin Energy, the operator company of the Sakhalin II Project, has marked 10 years of commercial oil supplies. The first cargo was exported in September 1999, heralding the start of Sakhalin Island’s emergence as a new energy hub in Asia-Pacific, reported the press-centre of Sakhalin Energy.

“Stable and reliable supplies of Vityaz, the oil grade that we introduced to the international market, paved the way for further development of the Project,” says Ian Craig, Sakhalin Energy’s CEO. “The introduction of Sakhalin oil to the markets in Asia Pacific established our reputation as a reliable supplier, which we have now built upon with our LNG deliveries”.

From 1999 to 2008 the Sakhalin II Project was producing oil on a seasonal basis from the Vityaz Production Complex centred around Molikpaq - Russia’s first offshore oil platform. Year-round production began in December 2008 and was immediately followed by oil exports from the purpose-built Prigorodnoye terminal.

Over the last 10 years Sakhalin Energy has exported 209 oil cargoes, mainly in Russian tankers, to energy companies and refineries in Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, the USA, the Philippines, Thailand and New Zealand.