MOSCOW, November 10 (RAPSI) – Russia’s oil giant Gazprom appealed the Supreme Court’s refusal to reconsider a lower court’s ruling ordering Sakhalin Energy to give Rosneft access to Sakhalin-II pipeline, according to court records.

Earlier, a similar appeal was filed by Sakhalin Energy, an operator of the Sakhalin-II oil and gas project in the Russian Far East controlled by Gazprom.

Rosneft wants to get access to the pipeline to reduce spending on the liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, which it is implementing jointly with ExxonMobil. Gazprom 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 pipeline 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 on the south of the island. Sakhalin Energy rejected the request on the grounds that it lacked the extra capacity.

In February 2015, the Commercial Court of the Sakhalin region dismissed a lawsuit which had been filed by Rosneft against Sakhalin Energy. However, the ruling was overturned in September by the Far East District Commercial Court. The court said that while Sakhalin Energy is not obliged to transport 8 billion cubic meters of gas, it should provide Rosneft an access to its pipeline that would allow transportation of 2 billion cubic meters of gas.

In December 2015, the Supreme Court dismissed appeals by Gazprom and Sakhalin Energy against the ruling of the Far East District Commercial Court. 

Sakhalin-II 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.