To ensure reliable energy supplies for resource-scarce Japan, a Japanese consortium has opted to keep its stake in the new Russian operator of the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project and is getting ready to inform Moscow.

Yasutoshi Nishimura, minister of economy and industry of Japan, hailed the unanimous decision of the shareholders in Sakhalin Oil and Gas Development Co, or SODECO, a group of Japanese firms having a 30% stake in Sakhalin-1 in Russia’s Far East, saying, “It’s an extraordinarily important initiative.”

According to Nishimura, SODECO will satisfy a deadline imposed by Russia on November 11 by informing the Russian operator of its choice. Working closely with the private sector, the government will exert every effort to guarantee Japan’s energy security, he declared.