• Russian state-owned Rosneft is a Sakhalin-1 shareholder
• US sanctioned Rosneft, Lukoil last month
• Marubeni co-owns SODECO, a Sakhalin-1 shareholder
• Marubeni's 6-mo profit up on strong performance in financial, food businesses

TOKYO, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Marubeni (8002.T) , opens new tab plans to follow the guidance of the Japanese government regarding its involvement in Russia's Sakhalin-1 oil project after the U.S. government sanctioned the project's key shareholder Rosneft, its CEO said on Tuesday.

Last month, the U.S. hit Russia's major oil companies Rosneft (ROSN.MM) , opens new tab and Lukoil (LKOH.MM) , opens new tab with sanctions, the most recent step to force the Kremlin to end the war in Ukraine. The U.S. will allow operations with Rosneft and Lukoil to wind down until , opens new tab November 21.

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Marubeni is a shareholder with Japan's SODECO consortium, a Sakhalin-1 co-owner. Other Japanese stakeholders in SODECO include Itochu (8001.T) , opens new tab, Japan Petroleum Exploration (1662.T) , opens new tab, Inpex (1605.T) , opens new tab and the industry ministry.

"I am very concerned about the recent changes," Marubeni CEO Masayuki Omoto told a briefing. "I will firmly ally with the Japan government's response (to the latest sanctions)."

ExxonMobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab, which used to own a 30% stake in Sakhalin-1 and had led the project since it started in the 1990s, took an impairment charge of $4.6 billion to exit its Russian businesses after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

In October that year, the Kremlin appointed Rosneft subsidiary Sakhalinmorneftegaz-shelf as the new operator of Sakhalin-1. Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree extending the sale period for the unclaimed Exxon stake in Sakhalin-1 until 2026.

Before Exxon's exit, Rosneft and India's ONGC Videsh (ONVI.NS) , opens new tab owned a 20% in the project each and the SODECO consortium controlled a 30% stake.

PROFIT UP

Omoto made the comments during Marubeni's earnings briefing. The company reported a 28% rise in its first-half net profit to 305.5 billion yen ($2 billion), helped by a stronger performance in its financial, real estate and food businesses.

The company, in which Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N) , opens new tab owns a stake, kept its annual net profit forecast unchanged at 510 billion yen, including a 30 billion yen cushion for contingencies.

Marubeni plans total asset divestments of 250 billion yen this fiscal year, including in its natural resources segment, more than double the already achieved 96.2 billion yen of divestments so far.

($1 = 150.7800 yen)

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/japans-marubeni-reports-28-on-year-rise-six-month-profit-2025-11-04/