MOSCOW, June 25 (RAPSI) – The Fifth Court of Appeals in Vladivostok has upheld the ruling of a lower court against a Rosneft lawsuit filed against Sakhalin Energy’s refusal to grant it access to its gas pipeline, RAPSI reported on Thursday, citing a court official.

Sakhalin Energy, which is majority owned by Gazprom, is the operator of the Sakhalin- II oil and gas project in the Russian Far East.

Rosneft wanted access to the pipeline to reduce spending on the liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, which it is implementing jointly with ExxonMobil. Gazprom, which owns 50 percent plus one share in Sakhalin Energy, turned down the request, saying that it planned to expand its own LNG plant within the Sakhalin-II project.

Rosneft said it needed access to the pipe to transport up to 8 billion cubic meters of gas annually from its fields in northern Sakhalin to an LNG plant it planned to build jointly with its partners in the south of the island. Sakhalin Energy rejected the request on the grounds that it lacked the extra capacity.

The Sakhalin Region Court of Appeals ruled against Rosneft in February, pointing to the prejudicial nature of the lawsuit against Sakhalin Energy. The court said that the declaration of intent in which Rosneft and ExxonMobil are cited as investors in the planned Far Eastern LNG plant, as well as the municipal authorities’ framework decisions on a site for the plant, do not necessarily mean that the plant will be built.

Sakhalin-2 is one of the world's largest integrated oil and gas projects. It includes the Piltun-Astokhskoye oilfield and the Lunskoye natural gas field off Sakhalin Island in the Sea of Okhotsk and onshore infrastructure.