TOKYO, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Securing energy from overseas, including from the Sakhalin Project, is extremely important for Japan's energy security, Japan's industry ministry said late on Thursday when asked about U.S. sanctions on a key shareholder in the Sakhalin-1 project.

Last month, Washington sanctioned Russian oil majors Rosneft (ROSN.MM) , opens new tab, a Sakhalin-1 shareholder, and Lukoil (LKOH.MM) , opens new tab in the most recent step to force the Kremlin to end the war in Ukraine. The waiver to end , opens new tab operations expired on November 21.

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"Japan government continues to recognize that securing energy from overseas, including the Sakhalin Project, is extremely important for Japan's energy security," the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a statement to Reuters.

"We will take necessary measures to ensure that Japan's stable energy supply is not compromised," the statement added but declined to comment specifically on the sanctions' impact on the project where METI is a shareholder.

U.S. ExxonMobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab, which used to own a 30% stake in Sakhalin-1, left Russia in 2022 after the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February of that year.

Before Exxon's exit, Rosneft and India's ONGC Videsh (ONVI.NS) , opens new tab owned a 20% stake in the project each and another 30% was controlled by the SODECO consortium involving METI, Marubeni (8002.T) , opens new tab, Itochu (8001.T) , opens new tab, Japan Petroleum Exploration (1662.T) , opens new tab and Inpex (1605.T) , opens new tab.

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/energy-overseas-including-sakhalin-1-important-energy-security-japan-says-2025-11-27/