THE SHELL LEAKS FILES — 2 NOVEMBER 2026
SLF-2007-106
The Sakhalin Papers XCVI: The India Option — Shell’s Attempted Sakhalin II Sale and the Buyers Who Never Took Control
By John Donovan — 2 November 2026
On 26 May 2022, Reuters revealed that Shell was discussing the sale of its 27.5% stake in the Sakhalin II oil and liquefied natural gas project with a consortium of Indian energy companies. ONGC Videsh and GAIL were among those identified. Separate negotiations reportedly concerned valuable long-term LNG and crude-oil supply arrangements. For Shell, the talks offered a possible commercial route out of Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. But five weeks later, Vladimir Putin signed a presidential decree transferring Sakhalin II’s operations to a new Russian company. The Indian discussions never produced a completed acquisition. By March 2024, Russia had approved the transfer of the disputed 27.5% interest to a Gazprom subsidiary for 94.8 billion roubles. The money subsequently became entangled in a Russian lawsuit against Shell. Authenticated corporate filings, contemporaneous Reuters reporting and official Russian measures reveal how a proposed commercial exit became a struggle over ownership, compensation and legal rights.
Oh look, another day, another example of Shell doing what Shell does best—putting profit over morality, humanity, and basic decency. This time, the fossil fuel giant has found itself in the middle of a geopolitical scandal, buying Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) while its shipments are escorted by sanctioned, Kremlin-backed nuclear icebreakers.
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