Oil Showdown on Sakhalin IslandThere is an emerging showdown in Russia surrounding Sakhalin Island oil projects.
The Russian Natural Resource Ministry's threat last week to cancel Shell-led Sakhalin Energy's environmental license -- coupled with complaints about projects led by ExxonMobil, Total and TNK-BP -- has stoked fears that the state is seeking to either dilute foreign participation in the country's largest oil and gas projects, or change them to give the state a bigger slice of the profits.